Happily Ever After
by Seigetsu Ren
Summary: For the sake of her country, the Queen would be wedded. But what of her duty to the woman who loved her most? (Eventual Elsanna)
1. Chapter 1

Stone perches engraved with angels, reaching high as though for the skies. The tall chamber was tinted rosy, warm hues filtering through frozen fractals to dance on unveiled platinum locks.

Prince Charming in all his glory, setting sun crowning his handsome face, reached down to meet his Snow Queen, melting her with a kiss.

If this were a fairytale, this would be when the audience clapped and cheered the happy ending.

Alas this was not a fairytale. Princess Anna clapped, but words of blessing would not escape her clasped jaws. She sat down, hidden in the standing crowd, and wept.

* * *

**Happily Ever After**

_Did it even exist?_

* * *

It all started with a head.

The ambassador from the Southern Isles brought a lacquered box inlaid with mother-of-pearl. It sat still on a gold-lined cloth of matching black. When the heavy lock clicked open and the wooden cover parted, the head was all she saw.

"That is quite enough, Ambassador. Please close the box."

At Kai's heed, the box was closed, but even so the vision still filled the back of her ice blue orbs. Auburn hair no longer vibrant, caked in a dull brown that meandered down to form a pool at the box's bottom, skin still fair with remnants of life, but plastered with grey death in patches that spread like mold on stale bread.

She stared at her own shivering hands, feeling frost start to form on her pale fingertips. The white reminded her of bone, peeking out the bottom of that severed face, jagged from multiple sword swings till the stubborn spine finally gave out.

Acid lurched from the back of her throat, but she kept it in.

"What is the meaning of this, Ambassador?" She managed to speak, lacing her voice with a dangerous hint. It came out perfectly, as one would expect from a queen, but inwardly she knew, her shaking tone was more that of fear.

"A sincere apology for what had transpired following Your Majesty's coronation. Hans the Traitor has been put to death, as befitting of one who dared soil this great reign with his cowardly act. May our respective kingdoms make amends and prosper together henceforth."

_So he says, _Kai secretly thought. Indeed, Her Majesty might very well be thinking the same thing, as she shut her eyes for a brief moment in what was most likely deep contemplation. The attempted murder of a neighbouring country's queen was indeed enough to warrant an execution, but to bring the dead prince's head to Arendelle as an apology? They were no savages! An apology? He did not think so - this was no better than provocation!

"Amendments, we shall make," the Queen's voice could be heard breaking through the throne room's silence. "I am sure, Esteemed Ambassador, you bring not only your kingdom's well-meaning apology, but also requests for Arendelle. Shall we hear them?"

"Oh, no, no, no. With all due respect, Your Majesty may be a little mistaken about our intentions. As those who have wronged, we dare not demand requests. In humbleness, we merely seek a bond that would strengthen the ties between our nations."

_Call it what you want. _"And what would that be?"

"The Port of Haakonton on the Northern Passage. Of course, we seek not undermine the sovereignty of Great Arendelle, we simply wish to be granted extraterritoriality as encouragement for our flourishing mutual trade."

_They send a provocation and ask for land? Take out the icing and this is a declaration of war!_

"Your Majesty," Kai whispered his advice, "I think it best to postpone this meeting till we work out a wise decision."

Luckily, the young Queen was no fool either. She nodded, and lifted her hand from the arm of her throne in a gesture for the Ambassador to stand.

"I shall take this proposition into consideration," She said. "The sea voyage must have been most tiring, Esteemed Ambassador, please do enjoy what Arendelle has to offer tonight. We shall once again convene here for further discussions on the morrow."

"In the name of my country, we thank Your Majesty's kind consideration."

She let the man's words trail off with distance. At the moment, silence was all she desired.

* * *

But a queen could not remain silent, especially on the possible eve of something so grave as war.

Gathered round the high table were her officers, the council of advisors, the leaders of her army – they were here to discuss their next actions.

In front of her loyal supporters, she let down a bit of her guard. The façade first broke in a tired sigh, a kneed at her pounding temples following.

How she wished she could just relax into her chair, close her eyes to all these troubles. How she wished to escape once more to the mountains, forget her birth and be one with the wind and snow. But she was no child anymore. Following coronation, she had taken the lead on her country. For thirteen years the castle gates were closed for her sake. Though Arendelle's capital managed through isolation, its once glory was certainly hindered by this act. Then the country was frozen under her carelessness, leaving crops destroyed in wintry might. It was not simple responsibility that propelled her to take her role as queen seriously, but also that of guilt, of her wish to make up for the horrible things she did.

She tried listening intently to the analysis of her trusted advisor, but each word gave a pain that jabbed harder and harder inside her skull. "Haakonton is situated on the disputed waters of the Northern Passage. To give extraterritorial rights to an unrelated kingdom might upset the nearby nations. It would be akin a declaration of ownership over the passage."

Her highest admiral gave a snort, "So be it. They have no right to the passage to begin with. If war breaks out I would happily sail my fleet through those weaklings and sink them into the waves."

"But why give rights to the Southern Isles. They are a hostile nation!"

"Perhaps this is their attempt at fanning the fires between Arendelle and its neighbours?" the Advisor explained, "May I dare speak my guess at their intentions, Your Majesty?"

She stiffened to the gazes turned to face her, returning the Advisor's emeralds with her frigid blues, "Please."

"Your Majesty's magic is that of great beauty, but it also holds a mighty power at its core. We can marvel at the elegance of a well-crafted warship, its magnificent bow and grand masts, but it would nonetheless be a weapon of war – it is human nature to respect and fear it.

After the Great Freeze, many nations have witnessed Your Majesty's tremendous might. This may have sown seeds of fear in their hearts that may very well propel them into coalition against us. If only they could draw Your Majesty out with a sacrificial pawn, the others surrounding us could take the chance to conquer."

"The sacrificial pawn being the Southern Isles?"

"That would be my thoughts, Your Majesty. The Southern Isles have weakened with their King in ailment. The Crown Prince has reigned for the past year, but the remaining eleven princes are not sitting idly. With Hans the Traitor's heinous act against Your Majesty, his younger siblings are calling him to take responsibility. It certainly does not help that the Crown Prince and Hans had previously been in the same political faction. His only choice would be to ease the tensions between Arendelle and his country-"

"And he does so by offering Hans' head? And then asking us to give them a port? This is ridiculous!" Kai spoke out against the theory. "This is provocation! It is a downright test of our patience! It is as though they were begging for war!"

"And they are begging for war!" the Advisor agreed with strength in his declaration. "It is obvious this is not the wish of the Southern Isles, but what was forced upon the Crown Prince from his allies. His reign is now weak. We've imposed high tariffs on their incoming goods. His country is being crippled! What other right of rule does he have now but the foreign aid that is offered to him?"

"You are suggesting, Advisor…" the Queen added after piecing everything together, "that another country, or perhaps many others, are forcing the Southern Isles to provoke us?"

"As Sir Kai had previously mentioned, they are testing the waters, and the Crown Prince has only one road left for him, to be the one performing the test. If we refuse the cessation of Haakonton, we refuse an alliance with the Southern Isles. It will make more of our neighbours weary of our newfound power. If we do settle with compliance instead, the Crown Prince can take Haakonton in hand to show his people Arendelle and the Southern Isles are in conflict no more."

"But if we do allow the Southern Isles to form an extraterritorial zone in Haakonton, we're not only challenging the other nations along the Northern Passage, but we're also showing the region our weakness. Our other trading partners would take the chance to make further demands in our relationships."

"Oh, to hell with those rogues. Like I said, we shall knock them all off their boats! Do they think it easy to defeat us if they simply lure out our Queen? Nonsense! What nonsense!"

"Would you stop your foolish war talk for a second, Admiral? No one here is doubting your ability to take on a couple ships full of sea rats, we're worried for Her Majesty's sake. Heavens forbid, luring our Queen into enemy territory may be the tip of a far more atrocious plan!"

_To assassinate me. _The thought rang in the Queen's mind, adding to the pounding headache now threatening to blast her head open. She could hardly hang on anymore. Despite her best upbringing, she could no longer keep her back straight – it dropped into the cushioned chair behind her and she closed her eyes briefly to the blinding sun shining from the window.

"My Queen."

She opened her eyes to see the Advisor staring at her with concern. She tried her best to sit up, but strength depleted, she could only content herself with craning her neck forward.

"Yes, Advisor, I think your guess stands on solid ground. What would be your suggestion then? They have us in a very uncomfortable dilemma after all."

"This may be a bold suggestion, but I do think we must offer them something they cannot refuse to quell the immediate tension. Otherwise, war is imminent."

"We are not giving up Haakonton! It is a tactical location – we can't let another country hold onto the Northern Passage!" the Admiral roared, spit almost flying out his mouth. Kai turned his head away in an expression of distaste, but nonetheless said nothing against the assertion.

"And you are right, Admiral. We cannot give up Haakonton, so we must give something even better. A princess, we will give, to enforce our friendship. With this they would have no excuse to make further demands."

A princess.

Their only princess.

Her princess.

"No!" the Queen's refusal was absolute, it left no grounds for discussion. The Advisor painfully forced down further words and kept silent.

The temperature dropped close to freezing; the air was still and all unmoving.

"Your Majesty," Kai finally found the nerve to break this frozen state, "The Advisor is not without reason. A union would best strengthen our relationship without threatening our sovereignty or our peace. It is the tradition that has been used to avoid conflict throughout all history."

"Then we shall have a union, but it needs not be with our Princess!" Her anger seethed, frost starting to spread from her hand through the mahogany table beneath it. The Advisor's unsure gaze crept up to meet ice, and she bore mercilessly into it, "Speak your mind, Advisor. If you have an alternative plan, say it!"

"I…do have one alternative…perhaps it would work out. That is…if Your Majesty…would…would…give your hand to a younger prince of the Southern Isles."

"Ridiculous! We're not letting one of those barbarians marry our Queen!" the Admiral spat. Kai cringed his eyebrows. Did that man think any of them were willing to give their Queen to an elder brother of the man who tried to kill her just months ago?

"And what other suggestion do you have, Admiral? Go to war? Do you think our people can stand a war after the Great Freeze? Even without war, we'd have to pray hard for enough food to last us the winter!"

"But give our Queen to them? No no no no. Nonsense! They are not having our Queen, and I'm not bowing down to some southern rat as King."

The noises pounded and pounded into her mind. For the first time since she was born, she felt her body boiling. It was an unfamiliar heat compared to the usual cold; it bothered her, it made her want to beg for an end to all this.

"Stop!"

Finally, the sounds faded, but the searing flame was still there. The sun's golden rays were still blinding her even from her narrowed gaze. Her world kept spinning and spinning.

"This is enough discussion for today. I will think about everything that has been suggested. You are now dismissed."

"But…" the Admiral wanted to get in a last word, but Kai dragged him out after the others, leaving the Queen alone in the empty room. It was getting late. She should go to the dining hall, else Anna be worried.

But she couldn't move anymore. Even her eyelids were heavy as lead.

_Just a little._

_Let me fall asleep._

* * *

The Royal Ice Master was a little distraught.

Because here she was again, the Princess of Arendelle, crashing his cabin.

"Now what?" He muttered under his breath. Just when he was about to set off on another ice-harvesting voyage, he was stopped by his unwelcome visitor who decided to hatch an egg on his reindeer.

Okay, not that she was really unwelcome.

And not that she was really a hen - she just seemed like she wasn't about to move any time soon.

If the burly blond must admit, he did want to see her.

Everyday, even.

After all, she was his girlfriend, right?

"But Elsa doesn't have time to build a snowman with me anymore…"

But look, same old topic, every time.

Location: cabin, forest, river, marketplace, heck the top of the goddamn freezing mountain! (wait, maybe he could see how that last one related)

But regardless of where, when, what, who, how, it would always make a big circle back to…

"I know Elsa is busy. I'm not a brat anymore. It's not like it has to be building a snowman."

"You know that thing behind you?"

"Hey, I'm not a thing! I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!"

"Yeah, that thing. That's a snowman and she made it for you."

The Princess pouted, freckled cheeks bloating, eyes squeezing tight in protest, "I said, it's not about a snowman! I…just want to spend some time with her."

"Which she doesn't have. Because for your information, she is the Queen of Arendelle, you know?"

"Exactly my point! She doesn't have time, so I want to make time for her. I asked to help her, you know, with going to places and seeing how things are doing, then reporting back to her so she can set her policies and stuff. I can do that just fine!"

And wherever you go, you would see farms rotting with dead crops, ships with holes drilled through them by what was formerly ice.

There was no point in surveying the land now. They would soon be starving.

What they did have was precious minerals. Whole families had been displaced to work the mines now, but even a growing supply of these riches wasn't getting them anywhere – the demand did not grow higher, so any lay economist could tell you the price of Arendelle minerals was dropping.

There was the ice trade that was still thriving, thanks to the Queen's magic. They were selling well with the brilliant marketing from their ministers – hyped to the status of a cure-for-all. It was only a matter of time this hype would be over though. For now, all the ice masters were put to work on harvesting as much as they could, merchants tasked with selling every last block in their stock. Hopefully, they might manage through the hard winter into the next sowing.

"If you want to help her, you should suit up and follow me. We need more hands on the ice harvest and you know it."

"Is that the only way we can get through the winter? Is that the only way I can help her?"

The round gaze was gleaming with what might be the onset of tears. Suddenly, Kristoff felt a little sorry for what he had said. Anna might sometimes be naïve, but her intentions were always good, and straightforward optimism might just be what they all needed during these hard times.

"Well…I guess not…you know, I do think the Queen would still need someone by her side…for reassurance."

"Reassurance?"

"Think about it. If you just froze the country and put it an inch above starvation, perhaps you would be blaming yourself. You're probably the best one to tell her there's nothing to blame. We don't blame her, and you don't either – from the very start, you had always trusted her."

"Yeah…I guess you are right…"

"So go tell her that!" He snapped. Sven gave a convenient shrug that threw her off his back and onto the hay so Kristoff could laugh at her new damsel look, "Ha ha ha, so shoo, Anna, shoo! You better get going with that job of yours!"

"Hey, that was mean!" She growled, struggling to get up. Oh God, so much for being a princess. She looked like she was raised as a donkey!

Kristoff stopped his chuckles and closed his lips into a thin smile. Looking at her, looking at his Princess, he felt a pang of pain in his chest.

He wished he were her true love, but what had once molten her frozen heart, who had once molten her…

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Are you gonna leave or not?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving, away from a guy who smells like horse manure," She squeezed her nose in pretense, "Stinky, stinky, Kristoff's stinky…"

Her silhouette faded into the lighted street. He shut his eyes and turned away.

Arendelle needed a Queen more than he needed his Love.

He could spare to see her go, for now…

But would she come back? That was the question.

* * *

It was past dinnertime already.

Elsa still didn't show up.

"Gerda, where do you think she is?"

"In her chambers, perhaps? Kai said Her Majesty seemed a little tired during the meeting."

"I checked already. The door was locked but Olaf found the spare key and…" Anna's voice trailed off when her eyes found the snowman by the fireplace, "Oh no, Olaf, you are melting! Get away from there now!"

"But I like the heat! And I have my personal snow cloud…wait…where is my snow cloud?"

"Oh God, Gerda, you think Elsa…I mean…the Queen is alright?"

"Hey, Anna, shouldn't you be more concerned about me? I'm melting…"

"Go to the ice house, Olaf, if you don't want to become a puddle before I find Elsa. Gerda, you said she was in a meeting? Where was that?"

"The conference room down the hall?"

"Alright, I'll go check, just in case she's still there."

* * *

The moon poured beneath her from the heavy oak door she just pushed open. Stepping in, she could see a lone figure on the chair, pale as the light, still as the air.

She didn't know how long she had stood staring, but when she finally realized, her feet were already feeling a little bloated from the blood pooling in them.

"What in the world am I doing?" she scolded herself, stepping forward. There she was, her sister the Queen, seemingly asleep.

"Elsa?" She whispered into the ear that was exposed from stray hair above the covered nape. The Queen was in her formal attire, clad in black and green, braid held in a bun behind her. Anna was almost scared she had woken her, but on second thought, maybe it was necessary.

She couldn't just sleep here, even if she said the cold never bothered her anyway.

"Elsa?" Anna called again, louder this time. She placed her hand on the porcelain cheek facing her, but was surprised it was not cold.

Hot, burning even. And when met with no response, Anna knew something was wrong.

"Healers! Healers!" She cried, but they were in a secluded place – no one was likely able to hear her. She gripped onto her older sibling's limb and tried to pull her up from her seat, but it was difficult!

"Oh God, Elsa, you need to lose some weight."

After much pulling and yanking and near towing of the Queen, Anna finally managed to place her in her arms. Even if the searing breath by her neck was making her heart race with worry, she was still almost glad it was there.

_Elsa will be okay. She will be okay. She will be okay._

Down the castle halls she continued crying. The healers had finally arrived, opening the doors to the Queen's chamber so she could put her down upon the bed.

"Princess, the Queen is suffering from a horrible fever. We must bleed her to remove the bad blood. It would be best if you would step out for a bit…"

"I'm going nowhere, Healer. Do what you must. I will watch."

"As you command," they bowed, starting their work.

A snow white limb was exposed from the pulled-up sleeve, a tourniquet applied above naked skin. With the pointed end of his stick, the Healer opened up a green vein.

"Bowl," he called for his aid who placed a white bowl beneath the propped-up elbow. "Release the tourniquet. Slow and steady."

The tourniquet turned and loosened. Red welled up from the wound, meandering through snow to drip into the bowl below. Drip. Drip. Drip. Anna held her breath while she watched the crimson flower bloom, the white became whiter until the Snow Queen seemed to become one with the coming winter. She was scared. She was nervous. She was watching her beloved sister's life being drained away…

"I think this is enough for now, Healer. Stop."

"But Princess Anna, the bad blood must be removed…"

"I said stop! Can't you see she's already sweating so bad the black of her dress is about to turn transparent? You certainly don't want to shrivel her up like a prune, do you?"

The Healer dropped to his knees, stick forgotten as it left his grasp to fall by his feet, "Of…of course not, Princess! My utmost loyalty lies with Her Majesty and the Kingdom, my only home. I will do everything I can to cure this ailment."

"I understand. Of course. Please, get up. I don't mean any disrespect; I just think this is really enough. We should first take care of the sweat."

The Healer stumbled up and Anna dusted his knees, giving him the best grin she could put up at the moment. He immediately bowed and murmured his thanks, saying he was unworthy and all. "I…I will bring a basin of ice water. Sponging will help lower the fever."

As the head healer left the room, the other healers got to work on stopping the bleeding. Sitting onto the bed, Anna positioned the unconscious Queen against herself, feeling the heat burn through fabric to reach the palms holding her. Even with this much blood taken out, she was still hot as fire, quite contrary to the calm cool she always emitted. It made Anna panic more, holding tighter to the figure in her arms.

"Are you feeling better? Did the bleeding work?" She asked, not expecting an answer. Still, when met with silence, unease washed over her once again. Do something. Gotta do something, anything to help Elsa. She chanted in her mind as she brushed her fingers through the platinum braid already messy from her previous tow of the Queen to this room. After some struggling, her clumsy hands finally managed to release the braid from its confinement, then untied it so the hair wildly cascaded down all the way. At this time, the Healer had returned with the basin of cold water, a towel in his other hand.

"Would you give that to me please?" Anna asked. The Healer set everything down at the bedside table and retreated a few steps to continue waiting. It made the young Princess frown. "Umm…you know…can we have a little privacy here? I'm about to sponge bath my sister…"

"Yes. Of course. We will be outside if you need anything, My Princess."

The Healers finally took their exit, leaving the siblings alone in the moonlit chamber. The new quietness made Anna nervous as ever. It was as though she could hear her own pounding heart beat.

"Oh My Lord, what am I doing just sitting here? Water. Right. Towel. Wait, her clothes first. Yes. Clothes."

She set off on the task of attempting to take off the sweat-soaked gown of an unconscious person. God, was it hard. It was already tight as it was before, but the perspiration made it worse, making it stick like second skin. It was driving Anna crazy, more specifically her patience, and she found herself wishing she could just tear the fabric apart!

"And then she would sentence me to death when she wakes up, so this is not a good idea," Anna mumbled the joke to herself, so as to keep her spirits up while continuing this tricky task. Finally she released her sister from the gown and she peeled it off the now naked body, tossing it onto the ground in a fit of revenge.

"Serves you right, you naughty dress. I win in the end!" She declared, only to find that she had digressed again from what was at hand, "Right, the water. Sponge bath. Yeah."

She slid over the basin and dipped the towel into the frigid waters within. Wringing out the excess, she moved the wet towel onto her sister's shoulder and started from there.

Wild platinum fell in a waterfall past the white peaks adorned with star dust. On her mid back those locks rested, frozen in motion. Anna swept them to the front so they dipped down from gravity, no longer obstructing her. With the Queen leaning forward on her supporting left hand, she moved the towel down, tracing the delicate spine with her right.

The snow was glowing under the moonlight tonight, not a single flaw to be seen. She traced this snow with the wet towel, breathing in the sweet familiar scent mingled with that of herbs from the water she was sponging her with. The towel slid lower, past the shoulder blades to the small of her back that arched gently like a lunar crescent. She found her eyes stuck on the beautiful curvature, mouth dry, heart pounding faster.

"Uh…I guess I'm done with the back. Front then. Front." She said to herself to calm down. What on Mother Earth was she nervous about anyway? This was her big sister. She had seen her naked more than once.

"We used to bathe together and that was no big deal!" She decided, but even she couldn't deny her own sarcasm, "Okay, that was when I was three, I admit. So it is your fault for shutting me out, Elsa! Now you grow up into a fine woman and leave me jealous of your perfect back! Never mind. Should stop staring at her back. Gotta start on the front and get this over with…"

But if she couldn't even face her back without her heart pounding, what about the front…

She yelped at her own thought, letting go of her sister suddenly to drop the sleeping girl onto a pile of blankets. "Sorry, I didn't mean to! Ugh…"

She couldn't finish her sentence as blood rushed to her head upon what she saw.

The hills topped with cherry, and a flat plain to their south.

"Oh God. Why am I staring at my sister's breast!?"

"Wait, I didn't just make an exclamation about that!?"

"And I'm now making an exclamation about an exclamation about that!?"

Her mind was blanking out. Compared to the still patient with the fever, she was probably the one more feverish now.

"My own breasts are fine the way they are. Just right. Hers are just fuller," She declared to no avail. God, the pounding was so loud it was deafening now. How could she continue?

She squeezed her eyes shut and reached for the basin with the towel, knocking it down in the process. Oh great, now the carpet was drenched, but who was there to care? Continuing with face turned, she roughly scrubbed her sister's front without even looking.

"Done. Now…"

Crap, she opened her eyes.

Captured by the lithe body under her, she could no longer tear away her gaze…

…from the untainted snow glowing on mountains, shimmering from its watery surface, molten under her heat.

She did what her heart told her to, her mind no longer functional.

Lowering herself down, she scooped the snow around her until she left a print.

Their bodies now sculpted as one, Anna held Elsa in this embrace with the moon still shining tonight.

* * *

**End of Chapter One**

M_y first attempt at a Frozen fanfic, suggestions would be welcome, support would be loved_


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thanks Faterunner and the two Guests for their kind reviews. It's much appreciated. I'm new to the fandom so feel free to give some suggestions to nudge me in the right direction if the characters get too OOC. I'll try to stay within the bounds at least for the first stretch until the plot progresses to develop their personalities. That said, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Fairly obvious, a broke student owns nothing but her pair of wet socks

* * *

_Lowering herself down, she scooped the snow around her until she left a print._

_Their bodies now sculpted as one, Anna held Elsa in this embrace with the moon still shining tonight._

* * *

**Happily Ever After**

_Was this really something to be pursued?_

* * *

This was a novel feeling.

The milky white under her, quivering from heat radiating from the core, dripping wet with the fresh sheen of sweat - it all enticed her to grip harder, pulling it all closer so the only distance still separating them was the soaked gown clinging onto her own skin.

She couldn't quite understand this new fascination. Remnants of coherent thought crumbling to nothingness, she relied on instincts she never knew existed. What was it about embracing a naked woman, her own sister, that appealed to her so?

Maybe it was the connection she longed. The nights she would sleep outside this bedroom's door, waiting for it to open; the days she would spend knocking with all her might in hopes of breaking down the barrier, only to be screamed at to go away...even if all the obstacles that once separated them were no more, a part of her still felt the subtle stretch that kept them apart even today, like eating at the same table but seated on either end, could see but could not feel one another while the food and wine and candles and the table itself kept them at bay.

Was she so deprived of attention that she couldn't be contented with what they already had? What kind of sisterly bond did she still seek? A sister who shared her last bite of chocolate cake or took the seat behind her on the saddle? Or a sister who bathed with her and pulled apart the blankets for her to squeeze in when she had a nightmare? All mundane things, but all ever so childish - even so, she must admit her sister had been indulgent in all her little desires ever since they mended their once broken relationship, but this just wasn't enough.

She wanted her to look her in the eyes, all the time, and only her. She wanted her to long for her with all her senses, to look and listen, to press her nose against her neck and smell the scent unique to her blunders, to lick her plush tongue against her throbbing vein and taste her desires as they broke out from her pores, to feel her with hands and feet and lips and the rest of her cold body, now burning with a fever.

And all these wishes were ever so foreign to her. She couldn't understand, and didn't want to understand them. So all she could do was to continue clinging onto this object of her affections, hoping that at least tonight, there would be no immediate necessity for her to comprehend.

But the woman in her embrace was no plain object, an inanimate teddy bear with no will to resist, she was human, strong and mighty upon the highest throne - her sister, the Queen.

A struggle against the weight sitting atop her, a gasping for the breath she was denied when her lungs were crushed - the Queen awoke from her illness-induced slumber and opened her piercing blues to the night, prompting Anna to hastily fling herself off the bed.

"You...you're awake? Thank goodness!" The words spilt uncomfortably from her mouth. Luckily, the Queen was so preoccupied with trying to get up from her place that she did not seem to catch the unnatural stutters the younger was making.

"Ugh..." the elder woman groaned when her traitorous body failed miserably to come to sitting, falling back hard against the pillows. Anna rushed forward to help her.

"Are you okay? If you want something, just tell me, I'll get it for you. You should stay in bed and rest."

"Well...I...ugh...wish to get dressed."

The Queen surveyed her own naked body with a hint of curiosity, probably pondering why she was naked in the first place. Then again, she didn't even know why she was in her bedchambers and not on the cold, hard conference room chair she so remembered.

"You fainted in the conference room," Anna said, coming to her sister's aid with a clean bed gown in hand, "Would this do?"

"Thank you," the elder took the gown in hand and tried to put it on to no avail. The younger quickly lended an extra pair of hands to help squeeze the fabric under her and over again, buttoning up the front.

"You really don't know how to take care of yourself, do you?" the younger nagged, taking full advantage of the rare occasion to sound like a mother. The elder chuckled. "What?"

"I can't help it, hearing that from our dear princess here who still needs a nanny to wake her up in the morning."

"I don't need a nanny to wake me up! I'm always wide awake by the time she gets here!"

"Wide awake in dreamland, I suppose?"

"Oh, come on, Elsa. I was obeying my bodily clock for beauty sleep, unlike a certain someone. Look who's in bed with a fever now?"

"Then take a good look at who is dealing with that horrid ambassador from the Southern Isles. He makes a good evil twin to the Duke of that _Weasel Town_, if not for the fact that he is twice the size and his hair stays in place on his scalp."

"Is he that bad? Does he pick his nose...and eat it?"

That drew a short spurt of laughter from both sisters. Anna relished in the familiar warmth of their relationship, territory she knew well and knew was safe to venture.

The thought left her burning inside once again, especially when her eyes wandered against her control for the slopes that graced beneath the Snow Queen's pale collars. She swallowed hard, trying to focus on a different subject.

"Elsa, I was worried about you. The fever didn't lower even after bloodletting. What...what would I do if you didn't wake up?" She turned to face the window where the night guards' torches casted light on maple half red from autumn. The elder was silent for a moment before slowly speaking under her breath, eyes thin lines as they glanced over her younger sister's figure before the once frost-glazed sill.

"I'm sorry."

"Promise me..."_ Promise_ _me you won't leave me, even if you must leave everything else behind? _"Promise me you will take care of yourself next time?"

"I will try," she said, painfully aware she couldn't even make such a small promise for the person who mattered most. Such was the vow of a queen, wasn't it? Such was what placed her above all, yet below all when it came to just living out life itself. How ironic. "I will get better soon, this I can promise."

She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to pout, she wanted to do anything to make her older sister guilty for choosing everything over her, once again. If she had done that, would those cold eyes warm up to her and only to her forever? Would Elsa finally say, "I don't care what they say, I won't let you go this time?" But these wishes shocked even herself speechless, so she just found herself continuously staring at the window, a silent tear slipping out the gates of her dignity to trace her freckled cheeks till it fell and struck her curled fingers below.

"Please," she almost hoped her voice would crack, but it didn't, to her disappointment and to her relief, "Please get better soon then."

"I will, Anna, I will."

* * *

She had been having a vague dream as of late.

It first happened after the Great Thaw, when snow-covered Arendelle regained summer and years of desolation finally lifted into a giant snowflake in the sky that just burst and disappeared in silver mist.

These vague dreams started out like those from earlier in her adolescence, when a certain emptiness took form in her stomach and made her wiggle in discomfort. Though discomfort was the word she would use to describe it, it was a tolerable, if not welcomed feeling. Her pulse would quicken and her insides would warm and fizz in excitement as the emptiness spread and evaporated the last bit of moisture remaining in her mouth. Throat parched to a painful condition, the brightness in her dream would overtake her vision with white, and quivering, her body would start rolling till the movements grew jerky.

In early adolescence, she would wake up soon after to the coldness of the night. Calmed by the pale blue moon, her breath would slow and the temperature would drop back normal. Though embarrassment would leave her cheeks slightly aflame, she was in the comfort of her own room - nobody would know about these strange feelings, and she would go back to sleep.

But the dreams she had now were different.

In the whiteness of that heated world was a glimpse of another figure, rolling with her, rolling around her. It became clearer and clearer with each rendition of this dream that she was being cradled by someone, but it was not the hands of her mother, holding her infant self in a wrap of blankets, nor was it the platonic arms of a friend in a tight embrace before parting on a long journey to the end of the world.

A touch full of irony, one gentle yet rough, one slow yet impatient - the touch was needy, its hunger everywhere. And under this touch she quivered and pushed back, sparks bursting at the countless points of contact. Yet, she was still not satiated. More...more...more...she wanted it harder against where it was burning, she wanted it deeper where they were connected.

At first she thought she was going crazy! This was getting out of hand. Just because she started dating didn't mean she should...should be having_ those_ dreams! Kristoff and she were nowhere near that level yet. Yes, they had kissed, that one time on the pier, but that was just at the heat of the moment...you know, the end of a heroic play where the hero would kiss the heroine and she couldn't just...say no? Heavens forbid, that would massacre the show! She couldn't say she disliked it, for it was warm and soft and felt right at the time, but she couldn't say she particularly longed for an encore either, thus they never did, and their relationship just continued in a rather plain manner.

Could the dream be her subconscious complaining against her stubborn reasoning that she didn't want to get intimate with the Ice Master yet? Maybe despite what she thought, she really did long for his touch?

But as the dreams became clearer, she intuitively knew - the figure she saw was not him.

The white fog started to clear and she began to see the rocking of her dream-self against the other. She was sitting, atop her partner, and grinding - their cores were grinding together. If only she could close her eyes even in a dream, she would do so shamefully, but she couldn't, so without a choice she continued to watch the passionate dance, rhythmic bounces up and down while tanned skin collided with a white so fair it nearly camouflaged into the surrounding light.

The next few times this dream repeated, she started hearing sounds. She was groaning against the touch, growling into the flesh her lips were pressed up against. Further down, something watery, syrupy was being sploshed, like jam being spread but not quite; it was getting louder as the sound of more liquid oozing out with some sort of motion could be heard. She immediately came to a realization that she was the source.

Whatever, whoever was beneath her was quaking, and her dream-self fought a lewd smile. This person was refusing to make a sound, but breaths blew, warming her forehead, and those breaths grew faster, harsher, stranger with her movement.

Finally, the person she trapped under one of her hands hummed in a low moan - low, but a distinctively_ feminine_ moan.

That was when she shot awake, wet all over, especially _there_, and nothing, even the cold night, was calming her down. At the time, she thought about trying to find her frosty sister to freeze her to death and bring her back again - perhaps that would help - but the thought was doing nothing to ease away the painfully swollen bud in her nether regions. In fact, it just made it worse, because...

By gods, since when had she turned so indecent to have such dreams...about a _woman_!?

She tried not to think much about it. She reasoned that you couldn't control your dreams! She had breasts and she had that extra hole between her legs like all other women do - there was no reason for her to be interested. There was talk amongst the maids in their dark little gossip corners about how to deal with those dreams, making her secretly glad she wasn't the only one, so she tried out the remedies she overheard of long cold showers and replacing the bed linen with what was soaked in holy water.

Oh, blast! It was obviously her Snow Queen sister's fault that she was having those dreams. Since their reunion, she had been busy with national affairs, leaving the gap wide between them. Her body was definitely just mixing up the sisterly attention she desired with the carnal need she lusted from a man...not that that was much better, but she could deal with such an explanation.

But once again, she was having this dream, and boy oh boy did she want it to go away!

...or not.

It was continuing along or against her will, the bottom partner's chin jutted upwards while head threw back against the pillows. She found her own hand pushing up from the woman's milky collar to her neck, tracing that angular jaw bone to the cute ear flushed with heat, then the beads of sweat rolling on her hairline before tangling her hand into the messy strands of white gold.

White gold...

"Ugh...nhhha..." The woman's sighs. "Aaah...nnaaa..."

The familiar intonation shocked her. No, this was just a jumbled collection of memories, a jumbled collection of unrelated memories and strange feelings...no, no, no...

"...aaa...Anna..."

The blues that opened up and consumed her, the lust that blossomed and overtook, the pungent smell of womanhood full of desire...desire for her.

She snapped awake.

She was alone in her room, the room she retired to after seeing her queen fall back asleep, but the coldness of loneliness was not what she felt.

It was as though she had just...slept...slept _with_ her.

And the scary thing was, though she would never admit this, it felt just right.

* * *

For the remainder of the night, she lay restless, devoid of sleep.

It must be one of those days when every pair of eyes in the hallway was absolutely shocked by her presence at dawn. Her dress was already perfect, no stray piece of hair sticking out her neatly-tied braids, but her large curious eyes were today near glazed over, encircled by dark, swelling bags.

One would take pity on how hard she worked to care for her sister last night, not knowing they both retired not long after midnight.

If only that were true, she thought, knocking gently on the Queen's door before a soft voice sounded for her to enter.

"I thought you won't answer," she said to the woman struggling to get up from the bed, flushing at the mirror image of what she had seen in her sleep. "Thought you would still be sleeping."

"I wish...I asked for the presence of the ambassador this morning, but I have yet to review the proposals my advisors made for dealing with his request."

"No one is going anywhere today," Anna snapped, loud and clear. Elsa narrowed her eyes in sarcastic humour.

"Sorry, Mother, the Nation calls for me."

"No, it isn't, and you're not leaving even if it is."

Registering the possessive tone she used in her previous statement, her scarlet blush only deepened.

"Are you sure you didn't catch whatever illness I'm experiencing? You look more feverish than me," the Queen said, placid hand probing her younger sister's forehead, making it heat up even more. _At least it seems like her fever has come down, _the Princess thought wryly, both hoping this moment would last forever and hoping it would just stop _now_.

"You are not changing the topic, Elsa. You're staying in bed, that's that."

"Then tell me what to do with the ambassador? Tell him to go back to his country with my declaration of war?"

"Tell him you are sick and he would have to wait."

It was a matter-of-fact statement, but it made her contemplate. Considering her options, waiting might very well be the best tactic. Perhaps it would sow some doubts in the ambitious ambassador's mind as to what he could expect from them...

...besides, if there were someone Queen Elsa could never say no to ever again, it would probably be the Princess, Anna of Arendelle.

* * *

**End of Chapter Two**

_Thanks for reading. If you have the time, it would really please me if you could leave behind a comment or two. Please feed me some motivation! Yes!_


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thanks Musicfutbolfan6, Eclipsestorm4, hubble36, and our lovely guest for the kind reviews they left last time. I really appreciate the time you took to make my day - it brings a smile to me when I see that little comment pop up on my email inbox while stuck in a virus-filled little room doing an experiment. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I own a half-written grant proposal. _Frozen_ probably doesn't fit the bill, does it?

* * *

_...besides, if there were someone Queen Elsa could never say no to ever again, it would probably be the Princess, Anna of Arendelle._

* * *

**Happily Ever After**

_...and even if it were within reach, you may still reject it_

* * *

Power was a curious thing.

Someone once said, mountains were there for mankind to climb. If that were true, then power must be such a mountain, the snowy summit an ultimate desire for all.

She had once thought herself immune to such a thing. After all, she threw away the crown that so many desired with the fling of a single hand!

Then she quickly learned that though symbolic the gesture might be, it didn't actually mean anything.

The Crown, the Throne, the Title meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. She could sit there all she wanted at the top of the mountain and that wouldn't truly make her queen unless others bowed down to her.

The realisation was a hard one, the realization her birthright gave her immediate candidacy to be a puppet. But she did have something that made her monarch in her own right, not her blood, but the power to create disaster.

Power was not the charisma that bought every citizen's smile.

Power was not the intelligence to invent innovative ideas for progressing the country forward.

Power was whatever could buy the hands of violence to threaten the opposition into doing your bidding, for there would always be opposition, and no amount of sheer reasoning would get them onto your side for their interests simply clashed with yours.

She cringed at the idea that fully described any tyrant of antiquity, knowing full well they were branded such not because they were more evil than the other kings and queens, but because they were so blatantly stupid their means of consolidating power hinged on obvious fear. Not a surprise most of them were overturned, their heads lost to the guillotine. That said, their most heroic of rulers were not all too different from their tyrannical counterparts: they needed power to secure their reign, and that was the first step to fulfilling any vision, personal or national, they had on their list.

At the end of the day, freedom was not an enclosed concept that related only to yourself: freedom was the ability to do what you wanted, against what others wanted in the case that those were different.

She chuckled inwardly while she picked at the chicken breast on her plate - the reason she was alive and the chicken dead was because she could kill it, but it couldn't kill her in return.

"Elsa, stop picking at your food like that. You ain't a brat anymore," Anna chided. Her baby sister had taken a liking to nagging her ever since she fell sick. She gave a complaining pout, exactly what she knew the redhead wanted, and put a piece of meat into her mouth to bring a smile onto the younger's face.

"Is it that interesting to watch me eat? Wouldn't it be better if you go with Kristoff for a ride to the springs instead?" She suggested as any diligent sister would. The Princess of Arendelle wasn't getting younger by day. Soon the advisors would be hounding on her for a political marriage with some allied prince. If she wanted to seek happiness and not stand by as a commodity of trade, she'd better get engaged sooner rather than later.

Though she knew, she said nothing. The words just couldn't form to her liking.

"Why do you always have to bring up Kristoff in these situations? Are you jealous?"

At the sound of what she said, both sisters flushed with an unknown heat.

Jealous of her? Or jealous of _him_?

"Last time I checked, he was your boyfriend, not mine," the older carefully chose her words. Anna glared at her, for what reason she couldn't quite guess.

"And you are my sister. That's enough of a reason for me to be slouching on your chair, watching you eat, right? And may I remind you, _my_ _Queen_, it was your right-hand man, Sir Kai, who asked me to take very, very good care of you so you won't collapse in a conference room again!"

"Okay, okay, I get it, _Dear Sister_, no need to rant!"

"Good. Now eat. No more this and that and 'I want to work' and 'you should go out and get some sun with...whoever' kind of talk, okay?"

"I was just trying to make a conversation about your love life..."

"Well, thank you very much, but it's completely unnecessary, _Love Expert_..."

"You did not have to chide me for being single," the Queen said with an air of playful injustice. A part of the younger sister was wishing to say that she'd never chide her for such a _wonderful_ truth! But of course, no justification could ever come to a statement like that.

"I'm not chiding you. I'm just saying it lies outside your area of expertise, which is to drive me crazy," she joked instead. The elder frowned.

"Don't coin your expertise on me. I have a frozen country to prove this declaration."

"Okay, you win. I can't freeze all Arendelle even if you were to get married to a guy you just met."

So what would she do if the Queen were wedded to a man she just met as per the Chief Advisor's suggestion? Apparently one of them had to do it, so what would Anna say if she took up the task? Laugh in her face that she was eating her own words? Throw a tantrum and gobble her wedding cake before it made it out the kitchen? Or would she just...not care?

As much as the Queen wanted to ask this conditional question, she kept it in her mind. She prided herself for being a woman of efficiency - meaningless discussion was best kept undiscussed.

"So what did the Ambassador ask for anyway?" Anna broke the silence just as she finished the last piece of chicken on her plate. She sighed, washing down the mouthful with the glass of honied lemon water the younger had specially prepared for her.

"The Port of Haakonton. They want an extraterritorial zone created there."

"Hmm..." Anna was silent for a moment, very unlike her usual fiery self. Elsa cast her gaze on her funny eyebrows furrowing in thought, interested in what she would say next, "So what kind of zone do they want? How big? For how long? And while the zone itself would be outside our legal jurisdiction, what laws would dictate travel to and from the zone? How would it be supplied?"

It surprised her a little her airheaded sister had so much to contribute, though of course, the problem at hand wasn't so much the details of the zone, but the fact a zone would even be erected. "It's still up for discussion, but any granting of extraterritoriality on disputed waters would be seen as provocation. It would be akin to bringing an ally into the claim."

"Ahh..." she sighed, knowing her comments were no help once again. No, this wasn't time to back down. Her naivety could have uses, perhaps leading to a new line of thought the conservatives would never consider, "It does seem curious to me the Southern Isles would ask for an extraterritorial zone there in the first place. We may be mending our relationship, but it doesn't seem like we're allies just yet - why would they want to enter our border dispute?"

What she said was true, and it wasn't something the Queen hadn't considered herself despite what the Chief Advisor said. Such a dangerous move did support the guess that the Southern Isles were forced into making such a demand from Arendelle, but it didn't answer the burning question of who exactly was putting pressure on the Southern Isles and why.

She could see why her advisors had avoided such a discussion. Time was of essence - they could not hold off much longer without providing an answer to the Southern Isles. There wasn't the time to gather intelligence on the hidden enemy without them realizing what they were up to.

Maybe Anna's wait tactic, using her illness as an excuse, could work out. Still, it wouldn't buy enough time for her spies to unveil all the enemy's plans. A little of it might be enough to help them form an alternate direction of negotiation, but surely, nothing could be safer than the advisors' suggestion for a political marriage. Besides, they could probably get away with a vague suggestion of union at first, such as a friendly invitation of the unmarried princes - nothing needed to be committal yet. If they dragged out the process and avoided talk on Haakonton, it would help their chances of finding who headed the coalition aimed at hurting their nation, if that even was his true intention.

"It's a complicated situation," she said simply. The younger groaned as though unimpressed her elder sister would not reveal more, but did not say too much, knowing it might not help matters too much.

"Whatever the situation is, you're getting better first. That's all that matters now."

* * *

Night.

It was with quite a lot of effort that she finally managed to get Anna to step out her bed chambers, asking her to check on her dinner. As the younger exited, a healer entered to change the bandages on the Queen's arm where she had been bled the previous night. She was a young woman in her late twenties, deep features etched on olive skin, dark hair matching the marble-like gaze she wore. The Queen recognized her from their first meeting, shortly after the untimely death of her parents, well before her own coronation. It was when she was handed the "little book" her late father had kept - a book unlike any other, locked by the very magic that was forbidden by the nation itself. It was a lock only those with royal blood could break, and upon unsealing its contents, she realized it was a document that could not be disclosed to any other - a record of their spies.

Spies were a contradictory existence. They needed to find out secrets, but they couldn't know too much, else they would fall out of your control. Their work was dangerous, but they could not be recognized for it, and any compensation going to them must be kept strictly secret. Considering this, it begged the question why anyone would want to be a spy, and such a question must be answered by the monarchy that employed them in order to continue handing out motivation for their services.

She found her ancestors had long tried to answer this question, and certain solutions they did find, though they still cautioned spies were the most likely force to bring them out of power. They included many measures to keep them in place, from their very selection to their maintenance and disposal, when necessary.

The first of Arendelle's spies were from abroad. Roaming nomads displaced from their homes, they were taken in as slaves of sort, guaranteed a living for the work they performed. They occupied whatever position best gave them access to information required, and these positions switched the moment they gained what was necessary. Sacrificing efficiency for keeping spies in their posts, they were displaced frequently so they would never obtain a handle strong enough to pull the rulers off their thrones. For the most part, these men and women were accomodating of this policy, for they too understood knowing too much would put their lives in danger, and ultimately most of them partook this job because they merely wanted to live on. Their careers were short, compensation thereafter handsome - considering they had no public achievement to boast nor the military force required for rebelling with violence, they did not and would not threaten those at the pinnacle of power.

This tradition continued throughout Arendelle history. They did recruit from other backgrounds, orphans whose families were killed in war waged by other nations, abused children looking to escape the lives they were born into - they took in those who felt unneeded, giving them the hope that they could accomplish something for the country, and most importantly for themselves. They reported to their superiors who rose through the ranks as they did, and even the highest spymasters moved from region to region, never knowing just how many others were present alongside them.

This woman was one of them, having been summoned back from the East when the country was ruled by regents. It was a command the late king left his daughter long before he ever went on that fateful journey, "Send for her shall I no longer be able to return to you," he said, displaying his trust in this woman's abilities and her loyalty.

"I've investigated the advisors. They have not made a move since the Ambassador's request," she muttered under her breath as she changed the bandages. Elsa inwardly sighed in relief. At least an internal struggle was not yet the problem.

"What of the region you are currently in charge?"

"No clear move from the continent yet. But..."

"But?"

"Intelligence points to danger in the economy of Baden."

"So it might be destabilizing the continent's politics?"

"I would assume."

"Any indications why? I thought the new privatization laws were making their commerce fluorish."

"On the surface. National production is relatively consistent. The rich are merely selling off what were once locked up by the state."

...which was dangerous, as that would mean the rich would be trying to ship off the resources they garnered before they were caught for their illegal deals.

And if they were caught, how far up did those deals trace? The structure that sustained the monarchy's own reign? Would the monarchy already know, but were turning a blind eye to the transactions that were selling out their country in the dark? Did they even have a choice? Were they, too, selling out their country, readying themselves for abdication?

Problem was, she couldn't relate any of this to what was happening in Arendelle. Or did it relate at all?

"How much longer?" she asked, "How much longer would be required to assess the situation in Baden before you could come to a conclusion about whether it linked to the Southern Isles?"

"I'm already certain it would link up," the spy whispered, tying a final knot on the new bandage, "Everything links to everything, Your Majesty. I'm uncertain as to what exactly you are hoping we would find out."

Perhaps another reason her father was so adament on summoning this woman back was she was probably the only one who would dare speak such blunt words to the Queen.

"Let me rephrase my question. How long do we have till war on Arendelle? Would it be preventable?"

"I can tell you, Your Majesty, the reign of Baden can last no more than this year. When the reign is replaced, we will certainly be involved. All our neighbours would be, including the Southern Isles. Question would be which side we decide to take."

* * *

She had dinner in her own chambers, served by Anna who once again relished the novel motherly position she took as of late.

Still, the entire day of rest did little to that horrible ache in her head. It was, if anything, worsening after the conversation she had with her spy. At any rate, dinner did give her a little more energy, so she sat up in her bed, watching the drifting leaves outside her window.

"Would you light the lamp for me, Anna?"

"No," the younger answered bluntly, "I said already. No more reading after dinner. You need to rest."

"But I can't sleep yet," she said with a little whining hint in her voice. It made the redhead chuckle.

"Too bad. Talk to me then."

Oh, how she would love to chat as they had done in their early childhood, but unfortunately, the hands of time wouldn't turn back for them.

She was the Queen and she was the Princess. If only they could run away, but that would be horribly irresponsible, wouldn't it? Not that she hadn't already run away once - she couldn't afford to do it again.

At least she would ensure Anna would remain free. That was the best gift she could give as her sister.

"Anna," she said absentmindedly, still glancing out into the night, "I'm planning on inviting the princes of the Southern Isles for a friendly gathering, perhaps discuss some matters regarding our countries, our trade and cultural exchanges."

The redhead jerked her head back, surprisingly sensitive to the matter, "Isn't that what ambassadors are for?"

"I do think a formal union is overdue, considering we were formerly allies during the time of their previous king and ours. Prince Hans' incident was unfortunate, but I don't want it to destroy the relationship we shared for centuries."

"What kind of formal union are you suggesting?" Anna said angrily, stomping over to grab her sister's hands in her own. The force with which she was squeezing down on her palms made the Queen widen her eyes in surprise.

"Anna, don't worry, I will not give you away to a political union, I promise."

"I know," she snapped, eyes still glaring at their icy counterparts. She leaned forward so the sharp, electric teals under moonlight intensified, their faces so close together that the younger's searing heat spread across her cool cheeks. "So you are planning on giving yourself away, aren't you?"

Anna didn't wait for her reply.

The question the Queen had in mind in the morning was answered in the simple gesture that was to come.

_So what would the Princess do if the Queen were wedded to a man she just met?_

She would crush her lips against those of the Queen and silence her.

* * *

**End of Chapter Three**

_Thanks for reading! If you would be so kind to feed me a review, it might get digested to motivation to help me write faster. Yay!_


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Thanks charmiaj, Circ, Musicfutbolfan6, and the guest for your kind comments. You are all super-wonderful! Once again, if you do have time after reading, it'd make me really happy if you could leave a review behind. They just make me smile after coming home from a long day of work. And of course, suggestions are most welcome as I'm still learning in the process of writing this.

Disclaimer: My creativity has dried up and I can no longer come up with interesting ways of saying that I do not own _Frozen_, which you all already know.

* * *

_So what would the Princess do if the Queen were wedded to a man she just met?_

_She would crush her lips against those of the Queen and silence her._

* * *

**Happily Ever After**

_What kind of ending would leave everyone satisfied?_

* * *

She had no idea what she was doing.

It was in the fury of the moment when she pressed her lips against her sister's. Yes, not just any woman, as though that weren't bad enough, but her sister.

But her mind wasn't functional at this time. Perhaps if it were, she would've already begun regretting.

Alas it wasn't. Overtaken by her emotions, she continued to assault the soft flesh between her lips. She squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to look at what Elsa's reaction would be to the sudden turn of events. It couldn't be a good reaction either way, as she might as well be kissing a wall and it honestly wouldn't feel much different.

The figure she grasped in her arms was rigid, and the lips she pressed against were quivering.

Still, she kept with the daunting task of prying those lips open, not even knowing where her motivation came from. After a long half-minute, the older woman gasped for breath, giving the younger entrance between her teeth where their tongues now slid, one above the other.

The Queen's hands were set on Anna's shoulders, but whether from her fever or from _the fever of this moment_, her hands were limp, simply resting there useless while the younger further tightened their embrace.

Anna was completely operating on instinct by now. She had never kissed like this before, but her body knew what to do, her tongue dipping into the bony crevice on the bottom of her sister's mouth, tracing the indentations with soft strokes, licking the residue of cinnamon from last night's tooth powder remaining on the gumline. She moved from each pearly white to the next till reaching the back of the cavity where the flesh connecting to the uvula was so delicate it felt as though it would melt. The deeper she moved, the more the body in her grasp shook, and finally, it drew a moan from the older who tried to supress a gag from the action.

The sound shook her mind and she withdrew sharply.

What the hell was she doing? Memories of those dreams came back to her, making her move backwards, step by step, until the heel of her left foot caught the lampstand, sending it colliding with the ground.

"I...I'm...I'm really sorry..." she managed to mutter before fleeing the scene, leaving the Queen alone where she sat on her bed.

Elsa touched her swollen lip still wet from its last caress. She willed herself to think everything over, but her mind simply remained blank.

* * *

After a long night of little rest, the Queen awoke to the break of dawn, one brighter than the previous with light reflecting off the year's first snow.

A knock sounded at her door.

"Come in," she said, and the healer from last night walked in, carrying a new basin of water and fresh bandages.

"I came to change your bandages, Your Majesty," she announced before shutting the door, "May I ask how are you feeling this morning?"

"I suppose it can be better," she muttered while the woman removed the old cloth from her arm to wash the wound where she was bled. It had started healing, but there was still an ugly purple-red mark on her otherwise flawless skin. After drying the wound, the healer began applying a herbal paste to the area, and Elsa took the slow strokes as a cue to speak. "Have you found out more about who directed the Southern Isles into making those demands?"

"Little news has reached us last night. I've consolidated the reports in Baden and have confirmed a leak of their wealth outside their borders. It is not a singular flow, but many in tangential, like a river's tributaries if you will. If I may make a bold suggestion, Your Majesty may wish to summon some of the other spymasters of surrounding regions to confirm my hypothesis."

"And did any reach the Southern Isles? I know your forces are not strong in that nation, but it is part of your region."

"Not directly, but the Crown Prince is negotiating new trade contracts with several countries of the continent, so it is expected a net flow of wealth will be moving into the Southern Isles to support his reign. It does give reason to their demand for Haakonton as it will legitimize their use of the Northern Passage for shipment of their goods."

"Any movement from the other princes? Last I've heard the Second Prince may be planning on a revolt?"

"No. Those are merely rumours, as the Second Prince is likely the most popular of the princes amongst the citizens. It may well be that the Crown Prince spread those rumours himself so as to keep his brother in check."

With that, the healer put on the fresh bandage, tying it tightly as a suggestion that their conversation was over. Before she walked out though, she cast one last glance at the window outside where the view was white with red maples still poking out below the thin blanket.

"The snow is early this year, isn't it, Your Majesty? The leaves have yet to fully shed."

Elsa knew what the spymaster was saying. She merely sighed, "I hope it will warm up soon. I sincerely hope so."

"Please take care then, Your Majesty. I will be back at night to check on the wound."

* * *

The Queen did not feel better after the talk, but she did have new concerns to mull over so her mind would be kept from thinking about what happened last night.

Subconsciously touching her lip another time, she found it was cold like the fingers she rested on its surface, but somehow she kept feeling a searing warmth there that was clearly inexistent now.

Summoning a maid to walk her over to her office, she made her way out her room the first time since she fainted. The maid was a fair woman in her mid thirties, head of pale brown tied in a neat bun behind her. The uniform dress fit her lean body perfectly, displaying a small yet hardened form.

She was the Spymaster of the North, the one who governed the Passage in the shadows.

"Would you like cushions for your chair, Your Majesty?" She said when they entered the office. Her slick voice never failed to send shivers down Elsa's spine. Despite that this woman had been serving the royal court since childhood under her late grandfather, she got unpleasant vibes from the woman, very unlike the comfort she found in her Spymaster of the Continent.

"No, I am fine, thank you."

"Oh please, Your Majesty," the woman continued in that jovial tone that hurt her ears, shoving two plush cushions underneath her despite her complaints, "You are still recovering from illness, you must not catch a cold from sitting on freezing hard wood all day."

Unlike the Spymaster of the Continent, this woman never used harsh words on the Queen, but she nonetheless nagged like an old nanny, each time dismissing the opinions of the young monarch as though they were mere rants from a child. It frustrated her beyond nothing else, and soon as the woman was leaning close enough that Elsa could harshly whisper into her ear without fear of others listening in, she did.

"Helena, is there suspicious movement of money into our rivals in the North?" She said with as much authority as she could muster, which she hoped was a lot, but it left the spymaster unfazed, only widening the grin already plastered over her pale face.

"Oh, you mean from Baden? I see that_ someone_ has been warning you of the situation, Your Majesty."

Whether Helena really knew the identity of the other spymasters, or she was just bluffing, Elsa could never figure it out. The woman deliberately appeared dangerous, yet never seemed to have pulled any concrete plans for revolt, at least none that could be detected by the other spies working in the network, so it deeply confused the Queen as to the woman's true intentions. As of current, however, she was one of the most valuable cards in her scarce hand.

"What do you know about Baden?"

"Well, it is not the region I'm overlooking, but words travel in the air, even if it is thin," she smiled brightly, leaning in so close that she was nearly kissing Elsa's ear, "Heard their King is selling their country out! By gods, this is the juiciest gossip that has crossed my ears in a decade, well, second only to Your Majesty's powers of course."

If Elsa had any evidence that this woman would hurt Arendelle, she would have no qualms killing her right there and then.

But because she was so useful for the good of the country, the Queen merely ground her teeth at the woman's thinly veiled disrespect.

Unlike the other spymasters, some of whom were placed abroad, others unused to the harsh weather and didn't make it in time to save their Queen, this woman had crossed her arms and did nothing during the events following Elsa's coronation. Did she not care that if she were to lose her Queen, she would not receive the compensation she was due to obtaining a couple years from now upon her retirement? Did she not care because she was seeking a much larger reward, that of the kingdom?

More than once, Elsa had pondered whether to let this woman retire early, but she was afraid of what a sudden move would prompt this woman do. Besides, this woman's knowledge of the Northern Passage was unrivalled by now, even in comparison to the previous spymasters of the region. She was definitely what one would call a genius.

"Excuse me for being the rude, uneducated fool that I am, but let's just suppose Your Majesty were selling out Arendelle..." The Queen's knuckles turned white when Helena's smooth voice continued dragging out while she patted inexistent creases on the cushions so as to remain in this uncomfortably close distance from the monarch, "Where would Your Majesty run to even if all the riches now lay within your hands? Hmm...maybe a greedy kingdom close-by long wanting to stamp a foot into Arendelle, but needed a perfect excuse. What better than a government-in-exile and the threat of rebels against their interests here? Hahaha...but no way Your Majesty, intelligent as you are, would not figure this one out. Why would you sell out Arendelle when it is already all yours? Why abdicate and become a puppet when you can sit high on a throne?"

For a second, only anger seethed in her veins while the maid just drew away and started wiping the office desk with a cloth, setting down the paperwork in a neat pile at the center facing the Queen. Then it dawned on her the hint Helena gave.

The Spymaster of the Continent said the regime of Baden could not last the year, but that was probably an educated guess based on how strong the tensions were now. It was similar to predicting the coming of tides - it came at this hour every day, every night, but it was not time that caused the tides themselves...

The situation in Baden was awaiting a trigger. Rather, it had already started.

"The trigger is...was...Prince Hans?" Elsa muttered, half to herself, half to show the spymaster that she wasn't the foolish Queen she thought she was. Helena just chuckled before humming the tune of Baden's anthem, bits and pieces of which the Queen knew from memory.

Baden, the sun of the continent, shining brightly in its center.

_If it fell, would darkness spread, until chaos enveloped everything?_

* * *

The Princess knew the Ice Master would be making his delivery to the court today. She went to greet him.

"Fancy seeing you around. I thought you're helping the Queen out," Kristoff said casually. She nodded with a smile as cheerful as she could manage, but the young man caught the slight unease in her expression, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing really..." she muttered, not wanting to voice her true feelings. She hated herself for even thinking about all this when their country was close to starvation - she could see just how dire the situation was with the early snow that had fallen.

"Don't worry too much, Anna," Kristoff comforted, "We didn't have much crops remaining either way, so not as though the snow would hurt. It's rather localized to our country, so it's actually helping with the ice harvest. Things are looking like it will work out in the end."

"I'm glad," she answered, head still hanging down. The coming winter wasn't her only concern. She knew, Elsa was troubled about the business with the Southern Isles, and she was doing all she could as Queen to resolve the situation, but why oh why did Anna have to make such a ridiculous outburst as what she did last night? How would that help anything? Why did she do that anyway?

Just because she was possessive and didn't want her sister to leave her again?

It was ridiculous. Elsa was Queen, she wasn't leaving anywhere. She would not marry an heir to a foreign throne and have their country annexed to another anyway. A prince would enter the family, that was that, Elsa would still be by her side.

Then what was wrong with her? Why did she hate Elsa's plan so much? Did she want her own selfishness to push their country to war?

She was just the younger sister...what right did she have to question Elsa's...marriage?

"You don't look glad at all," Kristoff cut her off from her thoughts. Her eyes looked up from the ground at his dark marbles and sighed.

"I'm so stupid. I can't help her at all."

"Oh? So something is wrong after all. What is it? Tell me."

He could tell she was reluctant. Perhaps what she was about to say was a confidential matter, which was why she was hesitating, or maybe she simply didn't trust him.

He inwardly laughed at his own weakness. What the hell? Since when was Kristoff such a softie? If she didn't trust him, that meant he wasn't doing enough to earn her trust. He was the kind of guy who stood his ground and grew from there no matter whether it rained or snowed or a gust threatened to blow his branches off - he didn't like guessing what others thought, he concentrated on building himself to be the kind of man that others respected despite his lowly origins. That was how he could befriend a princess, how he could stand up to the Snow Queen herself.

As though catching his powerful presence, Anna lowered her shoulders and took comfort in Kristoff's confidence, "We've been provoked. War may be imminent, and...and I can't do anything to stop it."

He held her with his large hands, steadying her stance.

"Is that all?"

"Is that not enough?" she questioned, almost on the verge of tears. Kristoff laughed.

"Look, you stood strong even when the country was frozen. I couldn't even do that."

"But this is different...I trusted Elsa would thaw the country, but this time..."

"You just have to trust that she can handle it."

He held her in his embrace, one full of all the friendship he could pour into her heart. One could say he had given up, but really, he just let it go.

The love of a friend was equally beautiful. It was not inferior, and he cherished what they had.

He would never leave her.

"Anna?"

"What?"

"Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. You may not be cut out as queen, but your earnest trust in those you love - it is more than anything anyone can ask of you."

She returned his hug, releasing all her helplessness onto his chest. He held her tighter, closing his eyes to feel their warmth resonate.

"Is that really all I have to do?" she asked. Kristoff nodded.

"Yeah. And even if you waver, just trust your heart. Forget what the world thinks, because haven't you once proved us all wrong?"

She didn't know if he was right, but at least she felt a little more grounded now.

No matter what Elsa decided, she would support her.

As a sister, or as whoever else, so long as she was needed, she would stay.

* * *

Looking out her window, Elsa stared down at where her sister and Kristoff stood.

Yes, she could tell they were merely friends, but that was not it.

She was glad Anna had a friend so dependable like the Ice Master.

How many elder sisters stood in a place similar to hers, watching their younger siblings grow to lead beautiful lives that touched their hearts?

She wanted to protect Anna. She wanted to offer her much more, offer her everything she wanted including herself, but as the older sibling, she had a responsibility not to indulge, but to give only what was best.

Coming to a decision, she summoned her Chief Advisor and agreed on a plan that would win over the Ambassador tonight.

* * *

**End of Chapter Four**

_If you have the time, please feed a snack for the review-devourer in me. Suggestions or just notes of encouragement are all welcome._


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Thanks DragonReika, Musicfutbolfan6, charmiaj, P6006873, and the guests for their kind comments. About the rating, as of current, I suppose it is a borderline T and M. Chapter two had some vague sexual descriptions, and this kind of writing would appear continuously throughout the story. I'm still trying to decide whether I'll write something at a more solid M rating, but we'll see how the plot plays out and whether that would be necessary. As for charmiaj's comment, yes, the first scene of the first chapter is the marriage - what you're reading for the past four chapters is the flashback. But don't worry, the ending will be Elsanna, I promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Frozen_. I just own the most recent FACS plot in my lab book.

* * *

_She wanted to protect Anna. She wanted to offer her much more, offer her everything she wanted including herself, but as the older sibling, she had a responsibility not to indulge, but to give only what was best._

_Coming to a decision, she summoned her Chief Advisor and agreed on a plan that would win over the Ambassador tonight._

* * *

**Happily Ever After**

_When you finally see it, you unknowingly give it up._

* * *

It was decided. The issue of Haakonton would await further discussion, discussion that would be held when the twelve remaining princes of the Southern Isles came for a party held in honour of both countries' renewed friendship. Well, twelve were invited, but the Ambassador said unfortunately not all of them would make it. The King was in ailment, after all, and Queen Elsa offered her best wishes for him to recover soon. With that, the Ambassador returned to his country to bring the word.

All those involved understood the underlying message well enough: the princes interested in joining the Arendelle Queen on her throne would certainly be in attendance.

After he left, the entire castle plunged into a busy schedule preparing for the festivities. It was a daunting task considering the need for grandeur yet the strict limit on the budget. To aid citizens through winter, taxation must be cut and the royal coffers opened to fund relief efforts in hard-hit areas, let alone the threat of war looming over their heads that would spell even more spending - they really didn't have the extra money for a celebration at the moment. The old castle staff were put to work on creatively using what they had. The chefs came up with new recipes for frost-resistant crops that survived the freeze, such as broccoli, carrots, peas, and the newly-planted but ready-to-harvest radishes. Any extra pair of hands, from the maids to scribes and guards-off-duty helped with mending the furniture and crafting decorations. The Queen's power over ice was put to good use in this respect, carving intricate snowflakes that hung from the ceiling to diffract light into its full spectrum, casting rainbows on the polished marble floor.

At times Anna felt inadequate. While everyone was working hard for the upcoming event, she was doing very little. Kristoff comforted her that the new recipes were mostly her idea, despite her absolute detest for broccoli. It did little to relieve her worry, but nonetheless reignited a little of her optimism so she could continue searching the marketplaces, from one city to the next, sourcing affordable ingredients for the menu.

Her search took her to a remote south-western village known for its plantations of marigold. In her previous visits, the village was inlaid with bright yellow, but now it was a bare muddy brown, the blooms harvested early for trade. The first snow had only fallen just last week, but the marketplace was already full of products from the picked flowers, rich dyes comparable to saffron, medicinal oils for wounds and joint pain alike, and the flowers themselves, well-preserved with the cold, ready to use for stews and tea.

"Wow, they are a lot cheaper than last time I checked," Anna said while she kneeled down by the goods. Kristoff gave her a playful mocking smile.

"They need the money for buying staple foods for winter. All the remote villages are doing the same, selling what they have cheaply. Same thing with the ice and precious minerals trade, royal support or not."

Judging from the price though, these villagers were aiming to sell a lot more than they had in previous years. Considering even the cold-loving marigold did not survive the Great Freeze well, it was likely the villagers were emptying their stocks from past harvests. They must be aiming to amass a lot of funds...

"...but potatoes can't cost _that_ much?" Anna mumbled half to herself, but even she couldn't help casting doubt on what she had just said. Even in the capital where price ceilings were being set and strictly enforced, staples were more costly than before. It couldn't be helped as the harvest was poor, so the price ceilings couldn't be set too low. Still, there was already a shortage, and it was taking a lot from the coffers to acquire more supply from surrounding nations to ease it.

"I heard from my friends that the price ceiling is being selectively enforced in these regions. You know, when the nobles want to acquire staples, they would force the citizens to sell at the ceiling price, but when they resell through the hands of their followers, they'd sell above the ceiling and their patrolling troops would turn a blind eye to those transactions," Kristoff whispered.

But this couldn't be! Wouldn't Elsa already know this from those she sent to monitor the regions? Or were those officials also involved in exploiting the poor and weak who couldn't do anything to defend themselves against this treatment?

"I...I need to go back," Anna said, but her feet remained planted. Kristoff patted her back.

"Even if that's what your heart is saying, you know that's not what your mind is thinking. Look, even though you were the little fool who said you fell in love with a man you just met-"

"Come on, that was ages ago, Kristoff. Stop reminding me that!"

"Okay, but even then, you intuitively knew you were being stupid, that's why you don't like it when people bring it up in your face."

Anna was silent. She turned to the products by their feet and the villager selling them, sitting on the rag sprawled out on the floor, wrapped in thick sheets - the only sheets they had for winter. She knew what to do, but...how she wished she didn't have to face it.

"Kristoff," she whispered to him, "Let's buy a little more than what we need from them. But if I alone do it, it'll be suspicious, so have your friends spread out our purchase over the next few days. We'll only take what we need back to the capital. The rest...let's trade it for something else in another village."

She wanted to help them, but she couldn't do it obviously. If it were just as she thought, even the Queen was holding back.

Greed was not a stone you could shatter with a hammer, its roots so deeply planted within humanity's hearts - you could only fight this evil with another evil, slowly injecting poison into the snake through a scorpion's sting.

* * *

_Cut through the heart, cold and clear_

Those were the words she recited to herself each day.

A monarch should analyze the heart of each issue, then strike through it with no hesitation.

But the more she peered into the murky pond of politics, the less she could see through it, let alone cut through it.

Maybe Helena was right in her voiceless accusations - she was just a child who knew nothing about what it meant to be Queen.

Despite that she had long recovered from her illness during the visit from the Ambassador, the throbbing headache that had developed since then only worsened to leave her cringing her eyebrows throughout day and night.

She rubbed her temples once again when her scribe came in to deliver the latest stack of reports from the nation's wide bounds. Slipped amongst them was a seemingly innocent drawing of a marketplace, people dressed in different costumes, buying and selling potatoes.

The scribe smiled, setting a cup of marigold tea on her table before bowing and exiting the room. The Queen was left to ponder about the latest messages she received from her Spymaster of Arendelle itself.

Yes, the scribe was another of the spymasters in the castle, along with Sonja of the Continent and Helena of the Northern Passage. Carl was the youngest of all three, having succeeded Gustav before him, the man who passed away suddenly just prior to the Queen's ascension. Gustav's death was an ongoing mystery despite the efforts Elsa and her spies had put in to solve it, but its effects were clear - the void in the protection of Arendelle was what indirectly caused Prince Hans' incident, so even though Gustav left no clear successor, Carl was promoted and now sat shakily at his post, arguably the shadow king of the nation.

There were four other candidates aside Carl who could've succeeded Gustav. Though they didn't know who each other was, they did know each other existed, and while none of them put up an outright fight for the position, there were one or two moves being made to advance their chances for promotion. The eldest, Phillip, tried to use Gustav's death as an excuse to spread his underlings into another candidate, Mark's area of jurisdiction. Mark, in return, caught a couple and secretly tortured them for intelligence on Phillip's identity. Neither won that particular fight, and it became a most difficult situation to handle without having them revolt outright - it ended with Philip being transferred to the Southern Isles under Sonja's command, and Mark to the North under Helena who, with her barely-contained sadism, probably would punish him accordingly.

Carl was definitely not the strongest of the five candidates, but at least he didn't pull a Phillip or Mark either. Amongst the remaining three, he was picked for his clean family record, being an Arendelle native through and through, raised by loyal vassals of the royals who had been in their services for more than a century. He was also the only one who had attempted to rescue the Queen during Hans' mutiny, successfully diverting the guards to allow her escape from prison.

But that was about the extent of Carl's abilities. He was hardworking and intuitive, but lacked the charisma to lead. Elsa couldn't help but imagine Helena's chiding laughter if she were to know Carl was the current shadow king - well, maybe she knew already, which was why she treated Elsa as a spoilt brat with an empty skull who only promoted a kid her age because she trusted him like a lovesick puppy.

It wasn't that Elsa wanted to promote someone who had less than enough ability to handle the country, but it was her only choice, and she had to make do of it. Carl did complete each of the tasks she assigned him efficiently enough: the latest was to investigate the market price of potatoes throughout the country, which she hoped would be within the ceiling her advisors had set.

The differently-clothed figures in the drawing denoted different towns in the country, the coins exchanged for the crops were the price. Needless to say, many of them exceeded the ceiling, especially in remote mainland untouchable by both central government troops and foreign merchants looking to sell products here where the demand, and subsequently profits were high.

Crack down on the illegal sales? No, that would destabilize the country. Last time she brought up the issue of lowering taxation for the poor, she was already met with demands that the nobles' taxes be cut as well. They claimed their finances were tight from keeping troops ready in the case of war, which was really an unvoiced threat if Elsa heard that right. The Highest Admiral, who had always sounded patriotic, was especially vocal about the matter - she couldn't just push through her policy no matter how logical it sounded. But leaving the illegal sales alone would be equally dangerous, fanning the fires for a revolution from the lowest classes. Not that she had anything to worry about her personal security, being able to summon a blizzard right in the throne room to freeze all potential rebels to death, but that was not the kind of monarch she strived to become. She wanted to rule wisely, but she didn't know how to play the game.

It was killing her, the million thoughts assaulting her left and right. If only she could hide on a mountain again, she would. Anna might say she was the best a Queen could be, but she knew she wasn't - someone like Sonja or Helena would be able to do it, she couldn't - she couldn't cut through, cold and clear.

Oh, Anna...if only she were here...

Noticing her own thoughts, she felt ashamed. What weakness was this? Wallowing in the comfort of her younger sister? Anna had her own life. Protecting her freedom was the very reason Elsa decided to take on all this responsibility. And here she was, hoping to restrict the bright personality with her cold, pleading hands?

But she was aching to hold a warmth in those hands, as she was already freezing in her own power.

It was cold up here on the high throne. She could say otherwise, but it didn't mean anything: the cold did bother her.

The marigold tea was a small warmth she picked up. Carl really was intuitive to bring her the Arendelle Princess' latest acquisition. She dipped her lips into the vividly-coloured liquid and sucked on it.

_Why are you working so hard, Anna?_

_Why are you helping set up this banquet to marry me off?_

_How I wish...how I wish you will take me away...take me away...take me away..._

The more those thoughts came, the more she willed them away. She closed her eyes and drowned in the sweetness of the flower tea, clamping her lips onto the brim while her tongue assaulted the petals, splashing the liquid, ignoring the tinge of spice that bit her taste buds and left an ugly scar deep down her raw throat.

* * *

The day arrived when the Southern Isles procession came riding down opened castle gates decorated with colours on every corner. In contrast to Arendelle's green, gold and purples, their uniforms were a mix of warm red and cold blue, melded together with pure white seams and silver shields. Five princes dismounted from their gallant horses: the young Twelve Prince, Magnus, in shining armour befitting the royal guards; the Eighth Prince, Harald, light attire only enhancing his body of muscle and sinew from years of serving the navy; the Sixth Prince, Sweyn, with a smile that bore such charm that those watching him were already swooning; the Fourth Prince, Eric, whose head of sombre black did not detract from his bright, intelligent ruby gaze; and last but not least, the Second Prince, Neil, the only one Elsa cast her eyes on.

This was the Second Prince, the most popular of the twelve, the threat of the Crown's reign.

She skimmed her gaze across the jagged features of the man ten years her senior, covered in tanned skin rough from constant exposure to the sun. His dark eyes were like holes that swallowed her inquiries, not exposing any of his deep intentions.

Even though he smiled on behalf of the others in their procession, bending in a deep bow when expressing his regret for his youngest brother's actions, Elsa was not reassured.

Her heart pounded not from love...

...it pounded from an inexplicably voracious fear.

* * *

**End of Chapter Five**

_If you have time to leave some feedback, it'd be highly appreciated! Thanks for reading._


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Thanks Rin, Musicfutbolfan6, and the guest for their kind comments. This chapter will start to enter a rather angsty stretch, so it's somewhat hard for me to write - if you could leave some feedback or suggestions, that would be really helpful. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Frozen_, obviously

* * *

_Even though he smiled on behalf of the others in their procession, bending in a deep bow when expressing his regret for his youngest brother's actions, Elsa was not reassured._

_Her heart pounded not from love..._

_...it pounded from an inexplicably voracious fear._

* * *

**Happily Ever After**

_The chase for this ending is the beginning of hurt_

* * *

The diplomatic visit began with a tour of the Royal Shipyard.

Aside from Prince Harald, who was absolutely enamoured with the ships, and Prince Eric, who nodded to every explanation the Admiral gave regarding their latest models, the other princes were clearly not focused on the actual tour itself. Well, Prince Neil did at least pretend to listen by asking stupid questions then proceeded to chide himself in good humour.

Anna was not impressed.

It was disgusting enough seeing Prince Magnus show off his masculinity at every turn, holding out his filthy hand to "help" Elsa around the bend when a stray brick protruded out the pavement. What, did he think the Queen was a cripple? Unless somebody shot down a chandelier while she was gliding on ice in high-heels, she wouldn't trip and fall!

As for Prince Sweyn, she had got to wonder whether his purpose for coming to Arendelle was really to court the Queen, or the entirety of their female population...

But of them all, Prince Neil was the one she couldn't stand the most, though she couldn't conclude what it was about the man she hated. Maybe it was his seeming perfection and the attention her sister devoted to him that made her grind her molars till enamel nearly flaked. He was good-looking, though not to Prince Sweyn's degree, nor was he flirtatious. He was honourable enough, but displayed his chivalry less blatantly than Prince Magnus. And most of all, he showed his interest in the Queen in a subtle way, keeping his distance, though working his flattering praises naturally into his speech. Right, so that was charisma, and Anna absolutely detested it.

"So this is a screw propeller? Such a massive beast, yet so elegant in design. I know nothing about this, but I am thoroughly impressed," he chimed on again, cold grey eyes glinting a silver in the sunlight. Elsa met them with her ice blues and nodded politely to his praise.

"Brother, what is to be appreciated is not its physical beauty, but its prowess. It is much more efficient than the paddlewheel. Mark my words, one day our greatest warships would adopt this and sail the high seas rough as my calluses! Har har har..." Prince Harald roared, then realized the situation and shut up abruptly, turning crimson. If Anna must pick a prince to like out of the five, it would probably be Harald who at least reminded her of the clumsy oaf that Kristoff was.

"You are right, Harald, power is not to be feared but to be admired," Neil continued watching the Queen, "I find what I am lacking in a fascinating puzzle to understand."

There he went again with his thinly-veiled sweet words. If Anna could punch him in the face, she would.

Gosh, no wonder this guy was Hans' elder brother. She found herself wondering what the hell was she thinking when she asked Elsa to let her marry a guy like that.

This was definitely karma. Definitely karma.

"Neil, this reminds me of your motto that power is not to be feared but be harnessed," the quiet Prince Eric added. Anna didn't quite know what was so funny, but she caught the glimpse of a smirk on her sister's face, and Neil's eyebrows just cringed a slight bit to the remark.

"What I mean is power can be used for great good."

"Indeed, the kind of good that defines your respectable gallantry, Brother."

Despite the compliments Eric made, Anna could still feel a heightened fury from Neil. She didn't really get it, but it tempted her to give Eric a thumbs-up.

The tense atmosphere had nearly frozen by the time they returned to the castle for lunch.

Though Anna was sitting on the other side of the table from her frosty sister, she could feel the temperature drop. Obviously, Elsa wasn't feeling any more comfortable with entertaining the princes or their sibling rivalry than Anna was.

Well, that comforted the younger Arendelle royal slightly, she must admit. Politics be damned, she wished they would just promise an alliance and go home by now.

Obviously the world didn't work like that, but one could only hope.

While Prince Harald was swallowing everything down like some sort of limitless vacuum and Prince Sweyn was trying his best not to puke from the strong odour of lutefisk on his plate, Neil and Eric's cold war continued.

"It seems that Arendelle will be experiencing a harsh winter this year. If possible, we would very much like to aid our neighbours in these times of need," Neil said in a discussion about the current events, "What Arendelle does not have, we do not lack, yet the rich mineral resources here in the north are certainly commodities of high demand back home. I do suggest we strengthen our partnerships in trade."

"Indeed that must be why our eldest brother sent his ambassador to Arendelle earlier," Eric said. Neil glared at his mention of the incident that obviously provoked the Queen, but the younger said nothing while putting another piece of broccoli into his mouth.

"We appreciate the goodwill your ambassador has sent to us during his visit. I am sure the citizens of Arendelle are most willing to continue our friendship with your noble nation," the Queen replied with no mention of Haakonton, but the maid collecting her finished plate could probably tell her barely restrained anger. If Helena weren't the one serving the table, whoever took the plate would've dropped it as the biting cold would definitely leave her with frostbitten fingers later on.

But Elsa wasn't in the mood to be thankful. She'd rather have Sonja by her side so at least her uncontrolled temper wouldn't put her at risk of mutiny. With Helena, she really didn't know - Elsa's current performance must be giving her yet another reason to commit treason in the near future.

She didn't want to be childish, but it was rather difficult to conduct herself professionally amongst these princes, one of whom she'd likely have to marry. Harald seemed to genuinely like her as much as he liked hulking Viking boats, but though she could see herself being this man's friend, she certainly couldn't imagine being wedded to the slow giant with an appetite for anything edible. Magnus and Sweyn obviously saw her as some sort of prize, which nicked at her patience, but she could swallow that down. Now this battle of gazes between the remaining two who definitely were more dangerous if not just for the fact they were absolutely indecipherable? And pulling herself and the rest of Arendelle into their brotherly conflict? She could feel her pounding headache return with a hard, painful pang.

"Prince Neil, I heard that you are very popular amongst your citizens. It must be difficult making time for this trip while having to take care of so many domestic matters," the Chief Advisor changed the topic much to Elsa's relief and anxiety. Right, after lunch the princes would be free to wander around town for the rest of the day, giving her time to discuss matters with her advisors. She was not looking forward to this.

"My thanks for your compliment, Advisor. A good relationship with our neighbours is most beneficial to both nations' citizens; it is with utmost honour I accept your country's kind invitation."

"My brother has able men and women serving as his limbs and wings. Even while abroad, he can still attend to the needs of our people," Eric made another comment that seemed to be hinting at something. Whatever it was only managed to draw the slightest smile from Neil's face.

"And Eric yourself is supported by a talented team of advisors, otherwise how can your businesses flourish in so many nations? If not for having you as his right-hand man, our eldest brother the Crown Prince wouldn't be doing such a good job handling the country's problems."

Eric didn't seem affected by the remark, only nodding to show that he was flattered. So he didn't deny the "accusations"? - the Queen thought. She was reminded of her discussions with Sonja and Helena about the situation in Baden. Was Eric the one funnelling money from there into the Southern Isles to consolidate the Crown Prince's reign? Then he must be the direct contact with those who pulled the strings behind the current tensions between Arendelle and its neighbours, between different factions within Baden - was he the one who initiated Hans' incident as the trigger to stir things up throughout the Continent and its nearby isles?

But while Neil protested to Eric painting his motive as using the Queen for his personal political gain, Eric did not retort Neil's counterattacks on his connections with the financers of the Crown Prince's reign. At this, Elsa finally paid attention to the thoughtful Fourth Prince - what was his incentive for coming here?

"The time is not early, perhaps our honourable guests would like to take a stroll around our scenic town? There is much to see," Kai interrupted in as jovial a tone as he could muster. Clearly tired of being ignored, the flashy Prince Magnus rose to the opportunity, downing his wine glass in one deft swing.

"My, would it be even more beautiful of a sight to take in if our wonderful Princess Anna here could spare us her precious company."

Elsa nearly froze over the table at what he said. What, did he sense how his poor pretence of chivalry did little to win over her heart during their shipyard tour and now shifted his attention to courting her little sister? Even the dumb Prince Harald glared at him with disdain. Seriously, he was worse than Sweyn who at least seemed as though being a womanizer was just part of his natural personality!

"I cannot think of a better idea, Prince Magnus," Kai answered despite the murderous gaze Elsa shot in his direction, "What do you say, Your Highness Princess Anna?"

Of course she'd want to say "no" under any ordinary circumstances. But here was the choice between leaving the princes alone to plot a new plan to win her sister's hand or keeping a strict eye on them - it was without doubt she'd take the latter option, especially given the jealous face Elsa was giving her from across the table.

"I'll do it! Commoners' fun, but I'm sure Prince Harald would enjoy a good beer from the Sailors' Den."

"Anna!" Elsa snapped at the inappropriateness of Anna's suggestion, but Harald was already laughing like a fool to the enticing offer. Neil nodded in agreement.

"Commoners are the pillars of every nation. There is no better way of serving our country than to mingle in and learn their needs and wants."

Oh come on, Prince Neil, did you have to spin every sentence into a subtle self-praise? Anna's teals met Elsa's blues once again - at least she left relieved knowing the elder shared her sentiment.

* * *

The post-lunch discussion was akin an argument, though the Queen was hardly aware of it, her mind wandering to Anna's current situation - was she okay with the princes? Did she find them troublesome? Or...what if she fell in love with one of them?

Couldn't be. They were all mirrors of Hans, except maybe Harald who mirrored Kristoff, but he was big and tanned not tall and fair, so definitely not Anna's type.

So what was Anna's type? Besides tall and fair, she also liked the blonde part, with light freckles dusting high cheeks. She recalled something like that being muttered through her door during Anna's adolescence. But she was no longer a child! What if she fell for that oversized sailor oaf?

"Prince Neil is the best choice for Her Majesty. You've heard. Prince Eric is with the Crown Prince and whoever putting pressure on the Southern Isles to provoke us - he is not to be trusted!" the Advisor spoke over the Admiral's hollers. The Admiral simply ignored his comments, continuing to speak in his thunderous voice.

"None of them are remotely on the level of Her Majesty! I say either take up the big sailor who at least had the guts to stomach our lutefisk or send them all home! We don't need dwarfish girlies with pride thinner than my foreskin as allies! Tell them to find a southern gentleman to court them and keep them in his bedroom. They are no good for anything else!"

"Language, Admiral. Your language!"

"In terms of political relevance, I don't think Prince Harald would be a good choice. Neither are the other two younger princes, Magnus and Sweyn. But both Prince Neil and Prince Eric are dangerous contenders. While they would serve as the strongest link to our nations' continued friendship, they both seem to bear ulterior motivations. I don't think we should easily give our Queen away to either of them," Kai spoke Elsa's mind, but she knew what he was hinting at, something she couldn't agree with.

"So you're saying the Princess should be wed instead?" the Advisor asked, but before Kai could answer, Elsa already broke the conversation.

"That is out of question, Kai. If it must be Prince Neil or Prince Eric, so be it. We need not decide now - they will be staying the week. It is the responsibility of each one of you to investigate their backgrounds and eliminate the potential danger they pose towards Arendelle. If there is nothing else to discuss, this meeting is adjourned."

* * *

Dinner had been a rare time of peace and quiet.

It seemed Anna had brought the princes out somewhere to finish the meal. Elsa didn't know whether to be glad for what could be Anna's consideration for her hard day, or merely her little sister's own will for spending more time with the males.

Right, males. That was how Elsa saw them. She never held much feeling towards the other sex, but Anna seemed rather fond of them, first Hans, then Kristoff. Though both didn't yield much of an ending, who knew what would happen when she was given the opportunity to spend time with five of them?

Just thinking about that made Elsa pace around her bedchamber impatiently. If it were against Anna's wishes, of course the Queen would do whatever she could to stop a marriage between a prince and her sister, but what if it were her own desire?

No, she couldn't let her just marry a man she just met. Anna was so pure and simpleminded. She couldn't let them use her bloodline for their own gain!

But wouldn't it be better that way? At least it would be a natural union, that of a man and a woman, a prince and a princess, it was the typical happily ever after fairytale ending.

She recalled the night when...when their lips touched.

The searing heat that burnt her and invaded her mouth and filled her whole with Anna's essence.

Her cold body started flaring and she tried her best to will away those memories. What was she thinking? It was wrong, so very wrong, and everything she had done since then was to try and correct this before it went even more wrong.

She was here as part of the solution, not to add to the problem!

But when she heard footsteps in the corridor and Gerda's voice speaking about how the bath was ready, she trembled.

Fair, freckled skin tanned just the slightest bit, sleek as silk, flawless as porcelain, and the thousand drops of water running down the lengths, rolling on milky curves and between deep valleys...

She squeezed her eyes shut, this novel feeling tormenting her. What kind of perverted monster was she to think such things just because her sister kissed her? She was starting to wonder whether or not the kiss even took place. What if it were only her hallucination? A rush of fear made her want to vomit. No, that wasn't it. It was real. Anna wanted her, not just she wanted Anna, and wanted Anna to want her.

Oh God.

She said it to herself.

"Your Majesty?" A knock from the door, followed by a female voice that sounded.

"Sonja?"

"Yes, it is me. Sir Kai said you did not seem well during the meeting this afternoon and asked me to check on your condition."

She tried reining in every last bit of control back into her body before she opened the door for the Spymaster of the Continent.

"Please," she said, stepping aside for Sonja to come through the doorway. When they were alone in the safe confines of the room, Elsa spoke again, "Are there new developments?"

"Prince Neil and Prince Eric each asked that these letters be delivered to you. I ensured that they are safe; I do not think they are laced with poison."

"Thank you," she uttered her thanks, flipping them open. While the manner of speech was different, both letters' contents were surprisingly similar: requests to meet her, alone.

"Arendelle is not of my jurisdiction, so I cannot make a certain assurance that either prince does not harbour ill will towards Your Majesty. However, here within the castle, I have ensured they will not pose a problem. Should Your Majesty wish to meet them alone, it can be arranged."

"Let me think about it," Elsa sighed, taking a seat on the closest chair when she couldn't trust herself to stand any longer. Catching sight of this, Sonja's gaze turned to that of concern.

"Your Majesty, you look flushed. Are you alright? Though it may seem just a disguise, I am a qualified healer if I may say so myself."

"I am fine, Sonja. But you have my utmost thanks for your concern. I am very grateful for your services."

"As should be my responsibility, Your Majesty. I wish not burden you further, but there is an urgent report I must relay."

"Please speak."

"I've traced the money used to purchase our iron export to an almost singular source. By making multiple smaller purchases through various different venues, they were able to mask their demand for the ore and keep the prices relatively low. This could be an indication that they are stocking up on this mineral resource for executing a plan that would require a large quantity of it."

"This source?"

"Baden."

It was starting to tie together, Prince Hans being the trigger for deteriorating Arendelle's relationship with the Southern Isles, then selling out Baden to fund the Southern Isles' puppet regime. Whoever was behind this used the island nation as a tool to fan the fires between Arendelle and the Northern Passage nations, so all of this was an elegant manoeuvre for war. Stockpiling iron just confirmed her suspicions. Someone wanted to collapse the local powers and take over, all of them.

But this plan was far too grand! Even if selling out all of Baden, there wasn't enough money to win a war against all the nations in the region! And military success did not guarantee political success - you could take over a country, but if you did not win over the people's hearts, your reign would not last long.

Or was the motivation really to rule all these nations? Perhaps it was something smaller, something more localized, something easier to achieve.

"Your Majesty, I can stay no longer without raising suspicions, but I would suggest caution against Prince Eric who definitely has a hand in the transactions between Baden and the Southern Isles. As for Prince Neil, I have confirmed that he has no plan to revolt against the Crown Prince, at least nothing physical that can be traced. But it is true that his finances are strained from the relief efforts he made to gain support from his people - he is trying to step into Arendelle's market, my _eyes_ have followed his subordinates and concluded that much. Whether he truly aims to gain Your Majesty's hand through this Arendelle trip, I do not know, but he is using the opportunity to strengthen his wealth, that is for certain."

"Thank you, I will think about this."

With that, Sonja left the room, leaving Elsa very much distraught.

* * *

The moon was high, skies lit by its white glow, snow glittering below, branches bare welcoming the holy wash. Queen Elsa sat with fingers brushing the letters in her lap, pondering deeply about her own fate.

Born with a curse, she never asked for anything. She was happy enough to be shut away in a dark room so long as she didn't pose a danger to those she loved.

She had once thought that she'd be made queen just in title. Someone would seize actual power over her country, she did not care - it would be better if Arendelle lay in the hands of someone capable, someone not a wretched witch like herself.

But just like her powers over ice and snow, her bloodline was equally cursed by those who wished to use it for their own gain. It was naive to think that whoever could take over the country would really lead it to glory - chances were, the ambitious merely wanted to squeeze every last bit of wealth from the nation, leaving its people starving.

Baden was a good example of what Arendelle would become if she didn't make the right choice.

And in reality, she didn't want to choose either prince, or anyone for that matter.

"Elsa?" Anna's voice sounded while the door opened, prompting her to shove the letters into her sheets. Darn! Didn't Anna know she needed to knock for heaven's sake! Actually, Anna used to knock, with a very characteristic rhythm too, but lately she seemed to have forgotten all of that.

"What is that?" the younger asked, clearly having caught sight of what Elsa hid. Against the elder's protest she dug them up, glancing over them swiftly before the Queen even had the chance to snatch them back.

"It's...nothing. Just asking for a private meeting, which would likely be about political matters."

"Really?" a hint of anger seethed from the redhead. She, herself, caught it too, so she pinched her own thigh to regain control.

Didn't she say she would support Elsa no matter what the latter decided? If she wanted to marry an ugly, disgusting prince, Anna would still have no right to say anything about it.

"Umm...I mean, what do you think? About Prince Neil and Eric, you know..."

"Well...how should I put it...they seem like _smartasses_?"

The two sisters giggled for a little while. It hurt, so badly, but it was still so sweet.

Anna stepped forward and hugged her sister. "It must be hard," she said.

What she couldn't see was the single tear that threatened to drip from Elsa's eye.

"Yes, it is. I won't lie...

...but it must be hard for you too, Anna."

And she couldn't see the same tear on the edge of Anna's teal, her lip broken from a hard bite to stop it from falling.

To hide it, Anna dipped her head into Elsa's chest, lazy warmth filling her, cool to the touch but hot to her soul. Against her best judgement she traced the tip of her nose across the naked skin of Elsa's collar, up her neck to her jaw line.

As much as those lips were tempting, she avoided them and kissed Elsa's cheek.

Even so, the contact was much too deep, for way too long.

Still, Elsa couldn't stop letting herself from relishing the wetness pressed against her flesh, the tongue that licked her, the teeth that scrapped her, Anna against her, with her.

The tear slipped and she gripped desperately onto her sister, not wanting to let her go.

* * *

**End of Chapter Six**


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Thanks Dbananad, Jennifersmith2198, Musicfutbolfan6, and the two guests for their kind reviews. Much appreciated! For whatever reason unknown to even myself, I just read through the first six chapters of this and found out "Wow, the last part of the first chapter sure was awkward," and "How many times would I type 'would' as 'was'...the two words aren't even remotely similar," and "Just how come I keep making idiotic typos in every darn chapter and can't keep the colour of Anna's eyes consistent? Gosh!" Yes, needless to say I was a little frustrated and had to skim through everything again on doc manager to edit it, but I'm sure I missed something, so if you do catch any errors here and there, or have other suggestions to make, feel free to tell me through reviews or PM. Of course, just notes saying you've read this are greatly appreciated too. Thanks.

Disclaimer: Not rich. Wish I own _Frozen_.

* * *

_Still, Elsa couldn't stop letting herself relish in the wetness pressed against her flesh, the tongue that laced her, the teeth that scrapped her, Anna against her, with her._

_The tear slipped and she gripped desperately onto her sister, not letting go._

* * *

**Happily Ever After**

_It will hurt, but only when you step forward would you make progress_

* * *

"Your Majesty, the preparations are ready."

At her guard's cue, Elsa stepped out of the throne room and down the corridor where he was waiting. Pressured by her Chief Advisor, encouraged by Sonja, she decided to agree to Prince Neil's invitation.

The guard stepped forward and pulled back the massive door leading to the courtyard where Prince Neil stood solitarily. She waved his dismissal and stepped forth to join the Southern Isles' royal.

It seemed they were alone in the vast garden where blooms had wilted under a thin layer of snow. Bare branches rose to meet the moon, appearing almost crystalline with ice draped over them. But she knew, on every wall surrounding them, hundreds were posted, armed with longbows, ready to shoot the man dead, a prince or not, should he attempt any harm.

Not that he would have a chance. The Queen could freeze over his blood instantaneously should he try, though it would be difficult to explain to the Southern Isles should that happen. Sonja's preparations were more that of planting evidence towards Prince Eric should the need to kill the Second Prince arise. That was a job befitting of her true title.

But really, this all was just a pointless show. Prince Neil was not an idiot. He had nothing to gain from killing the Queen here.

"Thank you for accommodating my sudden request, Your Majesty. May I?"

The Prince offered his hand to lead her through the bushes. She inwardly sighed, but acquiesced, taking it into her cold counterpart.

"Prince Neil, please forgive my rudeness, but may I ask what would your purpose be asking for my sole company on this evening?"

The crunching of steps on snow paused, heat radiating from his boot given ample opportunity to melt what was dinted. His face was turned just the slightest to the side, but she could catch a thin smile emerging, not a veneer of politeness, but that of unexpected sincerity.

"Then may I also be forward, My Queen, and allow me to answer your question with yet another question. What would your purpose be arranging for this visit from us, the Princes of the Southern Isles?"

Admittedly, Elsa was a little surprised, but compared to the man she first met at the greeting session, this Prince Neil was more comfortable to speak with.

"I will be blunt. It is impossible for our nation to give up Haakonton, but we wish not let this ruin our relationship with the Isles, something we shared for centuries."

"And in agreement, here I stand," the Prince said. He started walking again till they came to a clearing where a bench was planted. He swept off the snow from half the wooden length and slung his jacket off his shoulders to cover the wet surface, offering a seat for her.

"Thank you, but the cold does not bother me, so please sit in my stead," she said, taking a seat on the snow next to him instead. He did not press on with the matter and did as she suggested.

The night was silent save for the far cries of migratory birds flying south even in the dark. All was gleaming a bluish-white, hauntingly beautiful yet so lifeless under this monotonous brush. It prompted Neil to say what he thought of next.

"I know this is a most uncreative way of praising a woman, especially yourself, but you are very beautiful, Queen Elsa, just like what we're seeing here."

She chuckled, not that she really thought he was funny, nor was she trying to be polite. She just found all of this so ironic, but it did make it easier that the Prince himself knew of the irony, "Then let me be bold and creative by accepting your praise, Prince Neil. I have my mother to thank for my appearances. But just as you suggested, I am not very different from this garden. Power isolates one from others. I am alone, but I am alone and free."

"Are you?"

"Are you?" She asked in return, using the same tactic he utilized earlier. When he said nothing, she pressed on, "Your trip to Arendelle masks your servants' trip to the private mines in our interior where they hoped to sell Isles' liquor to the rich owners. Not exactly an action that matches your ideology, Prince Neil, unless limiting the rich and giving to the poor is just a fancy slogan for promoting yourself."

"I need the money, so I could do more for them," he admitted, "But you are right, perhaps our situations mirror each other. Power gives you freedom to choose the path of your desire, but even so, we cannot have everything. Something must be sacrificed for something to be gained."

"A fair trade, I believe," she answered.

So as prince consort, he could have legitimate control over Arendelle's southern ports for the liquor imports, while their union gave her excuse for not turning over Haakonton while maintaining friendship with the Isles.

"Thus why you chose it, and chose to join me today."

The night wore on, stars twinkling, revolving with the rotation of the Earth. For a moment they just stared at what was above, both with thoughts that didn't concern each other.

Never would they find anything other than a coincidental intersection between them. But that was how politics worked, and they both knew it, sadly succumbing to it for the sake of what, _who_ they truly loved.

"I know of your story, of what happened during Arendelle's Great Freeze, and the miracle of your Great Thaw thereafter," he said. At this moment, his silver gaze met her blues and found them mild for the first time.

"Something I would look back at with a smile, even when on my deathbed."

"I see life as separate paintings, linked, but not a continuous canvas like how we seem to live it. Those that would make you smile when looking back are the masterpieces, the reason you are alive. One, ten, or even hundreds of other paintings cannot compare to its magnificence. The others just serve as convenient targets for thieves, so what really matters would remain unharmed."

She usually didn't like these philosophical ramblings. Despite her high birth, she really didn't understand, or even disliked those who sounded high and mighty with their better-than-thou lessons of life. Here, though, she found something related.

"It's too early to go back. Those watching us would be weary," he continued from where he left off earlier. She knew what he meant. This was supposed to be courtship after all.

"You are right, Prince Neil. Do you have a suggestion to how we can last longer here in the cold without having either of us fall asleep and freeze to death? You do seem to be at more danger than myself in that respect."

He laughed heartily, a little more honest than earlier in his visit. Still, the chuckles were hardly friendly - less cold, but no less reserved.

"I do have a story to share, in return for the things I've heard regarding Princess Anna and yourself. Considering our circumstances, I think it would be fitting to tell this tale of mine."

She didn't want to listen, but the night was early...

...and he was right, given the circumstances, she should take what she could. This could benefit her final decision on what to do with him, for Arendelle.

For Arendelle and Anna...never once had she considered anything else.

* * *

On her ride to the designated meeting place, Anna thought about the events that happened from last night till now.

Last night, she had once again failed to control herself. Despite her best try, she knew, the kiss on her sister's cheek was anything but platonic.

She couldn't help it. The letters from the princes, their visit and ultimately what would conclude from it, she didn't want to hold back anymore. If she held back any longer, she would never have it, what she truly desired.

It was an ugly and selfish and disgustingly immoral desire, but the more she suppressed it, the more it came back with fervour. It was caving her in, and she thought, maybe, just maybe, if her feelings were reciprocated even the slightest bit, she'd be contented and this all would be laid to rest.

But it didn't happen.

As calm as she could, she returned to her room afterward.

In the morning, she heard the maids gossip over the latest of her sister's decisions. Apparently, the Queen would be meeting with Prince Neil that night. She didn't know how to make out the jumble of feelings that raged her heart that moment, but she was outwardly very calm, singling out the vocal brunette, Helena, from the bunch and asked her to set her hair in the private confines of her chambers.

Helena was a familiar face to the Princess, sharp features, pale brown locks, hardened form covered with skin fair but tinted red with exposure to the sun. Before taking up permanent residence here at the castle in recent years, she had been assigned to various of their ambassadors abroad by Anna's late grandparents and, later, parents. She had many good qualities, a hard worker, flawless about her assignments, good with her fellows from the castle regardless of age, sex or position, but did have a very nasty habit for yapping about nasty stuff behind her charge's back. Last time Anna caught her talking about...nightly self-satisfactions, this time it was Prince Neil and Prince Eric, starting a bet amongst the staff on who would take the Queen's hand in the end.

"Say, Helena, you were talking about Prince Neil inviting Els...I mean the Queen to a private meeting tonight?" Anna asked while the woman combed her hair and started weaving the strands into a neat braid. The woman answered in a steady voice, but her reflection in the mirror betrayed a barely-contained grin.

"I'm sorry for discussing something so utterly inappropriate with the others, Your Highness, please forgive me."

Anna was silent, frustratingly so, because she wanted to pry the details from Helena but couldn't think of how without exposing her deeper intentions. Being the rumour-monger she was, though, Helena continued shortly thereafter.

"But we all can't help being excited about this. Prince Magnus is so shiny, Prince Harald so big, Prince Sweyn so good-looking..."

"Weren't you hosting a bet on Prince Eric and Prince Neil though?" Anna snapped grumpily. Helena tried looking horrified, and it would've been convincing if not for how she was nearly doubling over trying to stop the laughter in her chest.

"Well, well, I certainly hope Her Majesty isn't as petty as us common servants in her taste. I don't know too much about politics, but Prince Eric and Prince Neil seem like the only ones old enough to have definitive influences on their court, right?"

Anna glared at Helena who bowed and apologized again, half-heartedly though. Okay, so she did a good job in her post, but the Princess still didn't get how Elsa could stand this woman and not dismiss her long ago.

"So why were you putting your money on Prince Neil?" Anna went along instead. Anything for more information. She'd have to put up with the maid anyway, seeing as Elsa seemed particularly fond of her and kept her around to serve even when the Queen was tending to matters in her office.

"Because Her Majesty accepted his proposal over Prince Eric's! I'd say, a wedding won't be too far off from now..." At that, Anna's lips couldn't stop themselves from being pulled into a frown. Seeing it, Helena paused, "Your Highness, are you jealous?"

"No! Of course not! How dare you insult me like that, Helena. I'm not...I won't..."

"It's okay, My Dear Princess," Helena smiled warmly, easing Anna's anger momentarily. The girl realized how much older the maid was, how the woman practically watched her grow up, witnessed the formation and fracturing and careful mending of her relationship with their Queen, "I may just be a lowly maid, but let me overstep a little and say what I really think - you are allowed to be possessive of the most important person in your life who in turn views you as such. Nobody has the right to object to that."

Anna couldn't decide whether she wanted to scold Helena or thank her, so she just settled into low chuckles joined by that of the maid she was so familiar with. For all her faults running the rumour mill, and the lack of respect she paid to her superiors, Helena could be a little sweet in the air of familiarity she displayed. The sisters weren't stuck-up royals to begin with - they could deal with friendly over-stepping once in a while.

"So if I were jealous, should I help Prince Eric out? Just so I can push Prince Neil onto a boat and ship him back to the Isles?" she joked. Helena laughed.

"Oh, Princess, do you hate me so much to want to ruin my chances of winning the bet? Speaking of which though, I can't help but wonder why the two princes seem to be in such bad relations with each other. Remember yesterday at lunch?"

Anna pondered. It was a good question.

It led to her later confrontation with her Queen sister that afternoon at her office after she came back from yet another tour with the princes involving endless meetings with local leaders in politics and trade. As the Chief Advisor had volunteered to show them the famous baths they constructed around the medicinal springs, Elsa left them to his care and returned early to tend to other national matters.

She was distracted from her work, however, when the one person she didn't really want to see stepped into the safety of her workspace.

Not that she actually didn't want to see Anna, but she couldn't really deal with the array of feels swarming her whenever they met. Last night had made it clear her not-so-sisterly affection for the redhead was not an unreciprocated fantasy emerging from her traitorous body's longing for a taboo fetish, it was very much reciprocated, threatening to topple the safe bond of blood that tied them together in their current relationship.

More than once she told herself not to indulge the younger, not to indulge herself, but when the freckled-face, teal-eyed princess came behind her and started to kneed her shoulders with an arousing rhythm, her control wandered, leaving her heated and frustrated.

"What is it, Anna?" she choked out the words, hoping to get this over with sooner than later and push the younger out of her vicinity, out of her danger.

"I heard you decided on Prince Neil...you know, the invitation on yesterday's letters?"

"You certainly are nosy. Were you gossiping with the maids again?"

"Oh come on, Dear Sister, everybody's interested, so why can't I?"

Even though she said it that way, the possessive tone of her voice was crying to state how she _deserved_ the truth.

"It's for the politics, Anna," she answered, wanting to end there but couldn't stop herself from adding, "There is nothing more."

"Oh?"

"You heard yesterday at lunch: Prince Eric has businesses in the continent. I can't tell you too much because it might hurt you, but I have reasons to suspect those businesses aren't so simple in nature."

"So you think getting married to Prince Neil would be safer!?" Anna exclaimed. Only when the words were spoken did she realize how loud she was, so she took a deep breath and tried to reign in her anger, "Please, Elsa, tell me everything. It won't hurt me. I can take care of myself, and I'm not afraid."

"No, I can't."

"Yes, you can! Do you not trust me?"

The imploring teal eyes bore into her ice, trying to melt them, but she turned away; it was to no avail though, because the younger just came around to her front and sat on her lap, pulling them close so the energetic warmth poured into her cold heart.

"Please, Anna. Stay away. It's for your own good."

"I don't want to. You've shut me out enough times. I'm tired of it and I don't want to leave again."

Tanned arms reached around her neck, locking her in place. Firm hands tugged at the back of her head, bringing her down to the shorter girl's level so their lips met.

This was the second time.

Elsa wanted to pull away, but she couldn't, Anna's adamant hands were keeping her there. The needy kiss deepened when the younger pried open her lips, tongue licking her teeth, practically begging for entrance. Succumbing, she finally acquiesced and their tongues pushed against each other when she reciprocated.

Finally, they ran out of breath, and Anna was forced to break contact. It was the loneliness in the void that set in without their shared warmth that finally fuelled her resolve, "I love you, Elsa. Not just as my sister, but I want you, all of you. I don't want you to get married to some stinky prince, okay!?"

She wanted to deny it. She wanted to have the courage to flat-out refuse this confession, but she couldn't. Everything she did up till now had proven she had no defence against Anna's advance - it was already too late, far too late.

She struggled to contain sour regret whirling in tears that formed in her eyes, and managed, though not without shaking in guilt.

"So I'm telling you, I've been telling you, this is all for the country, for protecting you and all my people. Think about it, Anna, those princes are just using me as I am using them. It's a political trade. There really isn't anything more to it. My love will remain for you, for you only. I promise, I promise, I promise..."

When Anna gazed at her lovingly, did she ever realize how much she invested when gazing back?

Anna always commented on how beautiful her eyes were, how bright a blue, how clear a depth, how much they were like unsoiled ice at the top of a majestic mountain, how they shone with enticing moisture when melting for her. But did the younger know she admired her teals even more? They were warm yet refreshing, the colour of pines, but they glowed with greater intensity. They were round with kindness, pretty in a cute and unaggressive way. Those eyes, by gods, those eyes held the world for her, and she could be staring at them forever.

Or how Anna had admired her hair since they were little? Her hair, long and straight, bangs sweeping with personality. The strands were so noble, for they shone in white gold, a mix of the sun and moon, marriage of the highest entities that governed the Earth. But what was good about being high and mighty? Wasn't Anna's rich strawberry-blonde more enticing with its hue that reminded her of honey sweetness? And such volume in her hair - Elsa could imagine her hands lost in their waves, submerged by their heat. Even the unruly parts sticking straight up for the skies were purely adorable. Didn't the girl, didn't her Little Ginger know that?

Whenever Anna complimented her slim form, covered in flawless pale porcelain, she just wanted to meld her pale, sickly body to the healthy curves of her baby sister. She wanted, so much, to feel those muscles flex under the baked peach skin, to run her fingers along the little nicks and scratches adorning that perfect figure, giving it a life of experiences - all the experiences she had heard about from the inside of her door years ago, like riding a bike down the hall, or falling off a horse trying to stop it from running over a pack of ducklings.

Anna was the life she wanted to live. And now, she couldn't hold back anymore.

All those wants exploded when she let everything go by returning Anna's fervour with her own, pushing the younger's lips back onto hers and kissing deeper, harder, thrusting her tongue far to the back, exploring all the things she had missed since this ugly, undeserving want had started feasting on what remnants she had of a soul.

She was a monster, but so be it, she was born as such, cursed as such, and she couldn't care less anymore.

"Els...Elsa..." Anna muttered in a momentary break to catch her breath. Both found kissing absolutely inadequate, so the next time their lips clashed, Anna reached for the mounds in front of her and lowered her hands onto them instead, holding them gently at her, then rubbing harder while she lost herself in obsession, in lust, in need.

The older woman moaned from the numbing yet strangely filling sensation, pushing into their embrace so the hands worked at her breasts with more intensity. The vibration she left in Anna's oral crevice just tempted her to do more, so she reached for an opening in her older sister's dress and attempted to move inside where naked flesh lay waiting.

"Uhh...unnggg...don't...please...not yet..." Elsa panted, finding it extremely difficult to extricate herself from the growing pleasure. No, they couldn't do this, at least not yet. The more she loved Anna, the more she really wanted to spend the rest of her life with her in the manner they clearly desired from each other, the more she couldn't indulge now, at this very moment.

They were in her office. At any moment, an official could be waiting outside, requesting an audience. A scribe could stop by with a stack of new reports. There was a war that threatened to break out, an alliance that she needed to forge, and threats, threats, more threats, all over, inside and out, that she needed to stop before they endangered her beautiful, most beloved.

"Unh. I understand," Anna managed to stop, probably coming to the same realization when noticing Elsa's serious gaze. "But I want you to know, I want you to promise, that you will no longer do everything behind my back with an excuse to protect me. I want to be with you, so let me work for this too."

The Queen narrowed her eyes into the warmest, fondest gaze she had and smiled, "You really are not my baby sister any longer, it seems. I have no choice."

They were silent as both chose their next words carefully. Anna decided to break it first, "So tell me, I'll try not to get angry, but is getting married to Prince Neil inevitable."

She could only look down sadly at her Anna, "Yes."

"Why? Just an alliance? It doesn't have to be the Southern Isles, right?"

"No, it doesn't, but I'm suspecting something else. The consequences of not going along with the Second Prince could be dire." She lowered her voice even more while barely whispering into Anna's ear, "The Chief Advisor is putting a lot of pressure onto this union, either you or me with Prince Neil. What's more, my most trusted spymaster is also going along with it."

"You think...Prince Neil pulls the strings behind the most prominent members of your court? How? Why? What exactly does he have and what more does his want?"

Anna was horrified. This...something like this was what Elsa was dealing with each day? Not just the external threats, the moves here and there to isolate Arendelle and take it out in war, but something happening at home, with those her sister was supposed to trust?

She starkly realized how lonely and scared Elsa must've been. But she bore it all, hid it all to keep her safe.

"I don't know anything about him, or any of them, Anna. Prince Neil may very well just be a puppet like myself. But what I do know is my cards are exhausted. I want to refuse this proposition, but I can't imagine the backlash. From the visit of the Ambassador, or even prior to that in Hans' incident, someone, something big might've been initiated. Say yes, and the wedding would happen, the preparations would buy us time and we should be able to stay out of immediate danger, but say no, I have no idea what would transpire. Most likely we'd be pressured into giving up Haakonton again, else the Southern Isles might be coerced into joining our foes, maybe in sanctions that would cripple us. I just don't know!"

Right, that reminded Anna, the idea she had when she first came to this office.

"If it can't be helped, I'm not going to be a brat and refuse to reason, but I did say I'll be involved, I'll help." When Elsa nodded, she continued, "You said how Prince Eric has fishy business going on in the continent though, right? So now that you tell me you have to choose Prince Neil because of local political pressure, what are you going to do with Prince Eric? He did also invite you to a private meeting. What is his motivation?"

"At first I wanted another of my spies to meet him instead, so I personally passed him a note today with a designated meeting place. But come to think of it, I can't trust anybody anymore."

"So I'll go," Anna volunteered. Elsa was weary, but after everything that happened, perhaps she really needed to place some faith in the younger sibling who she must learn to view as an equal.

As much as she wished to protect Anna, a long-term relationship couldn't be founded on that kind of landslide imbalance. She had decided to let it go. She had decided to pursue a future. In that case, she had to take the sacrifices, even if they hurt.

"The meeting place is the Valley of the Living Rock. Kristoff can take you there. As it is guarded by magic, I believe you will be in secure hands." Anna nodded with resolve. She took Elsa's hand, giving her confidence, and for the first time, those blues looked at her with a commander's pride for her soldier. "Prince Eric can be dangerous. His shady business in the continent is likely some sort of tie to those selling out Baden to use its resources for a future war. I do not know whether his rivalry with the Second Prince is real or just a show to mask deeper relationships, but either way, we need to connect with him and find the truth...behind both of them."

Despite the warnings, Anna was undeterred. Her firm gaze reassured Elsa, and they found more in each other: they were sisters, lovers, and trusted partners in holding up the country they jointly inherited.

"I will do it, Elsa.

For you and me."

* * *

**End of Chapter Seven **


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